250-pound female bear gets plastic container removed from its head
(Picture: Photo courtesy of MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife /Facebook)After nearly a month of frustration and fear, a bear in Florida finally had a plastic container removed off of its head.
Florida Fish and Wildlife personnel said that the bear was initially spotted with the plastic container on its head in Collier County.
But after only being seen twice, the bear disappeared out of sight for “over three weeks.”
Recently, the bear’s distress came to an end as it was captured on a resident’s camera, as expressed in a post on the organisation’s official Facebook page.
A bear biologist saw the 250-pound female bear just before midnight and tranquilised it before removing the plastic from its face.
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“We think it was part of an automatic pet feeder due to the hole near the bear’s muzzle. Luckily that hole provided enough access to drink and eat. Even after 28 days of wearing it, the bear was still in great physical shape!” the post said.
Despite the bear having a wound around her face and neck where the feeder was stuck, the staff cleaned the injury and gave her antibodies to help with the recovery.
After monitoring the bear for “a day and a half” to make sure that she was healthy and could eat and drink properly, she was released back into nature in a safe area of Picayune Strand State Forest.
Towards the end of the post, the organisation gave thanks to the wildlife officials, Collier County Sheriff’s Office, and residents for working together to rescue the bear.
