In a scene befitting a children's book, an inquisitive young black bear found itself miles away from home after getting stuck on a train headed to Winnipeg.
The bear cub, after getting its head lodged in a small hole near the bottom of the train, was carried for 12 hours before being discovered by staff at the CP Rail yards, who were performing a routine inspection and maintenance, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.
The hole, in which the bear got its head stuck, was reportedly only 10 to 12 centimeters and located near the braking system, according to Manitoba Conversation natural resource officer Blake Patterson, who also indicated that the bear was supported for the entire ride by the frame, brake lines and cables of the train.
The bear was uninjured in the trip and was just merely unable to free itself from the hole.
Rail officials think that the bear became an accidental passenger in the town of Foxwarren, a Manitoba town that is located near the Saskatchewan border.
Animal conservation workers, who arrived on scene Monday morning, dosed the bear with tranquilizers and held the young cub for at least 24 hours before releasing it back into the wild on Tuesday.
"We gave her a little extra time, because she was still very tired, from probably the stress of the whole situation," said Patterson.
Unlike Winnie the Pooh, who always seemed to find a way to get his head stuck in the honey jar, something tells me this bear cub will be keeping his head out of trouble in the future.
Black bears in the news
While the story of a young bear cub getting an inadvertent ride to Winnipeg is quite humorous, a Bellevue, Washington, city councilman learned this week that black bears are not always fun and games.
John Chelminiak was out taking his three dogs for a walk near his vacation home at Lake Wenatchee when he was mauled by a black bear.
In the gruesome attack, Chelminiak suffered puncture wounds to both his face and head before his wife, Lynn Semler, managed to scare off the bear by opening their garage door.
The horrifying events were compounded by a chilling 911 call that Semler made in which Chelminiak could be heard in the background muttering, “I'm dying.”
Despite the fierce nature of the attack, Chelminiak has since been moved out of the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center and is expected to make a full recovery.
Bear Mauls Bellevue City Councilman John Chelminiak
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