Bear runs free after 28 days with face stuck in plastic container

A bear that roamed Florida for 28 days with its face stuck in a plastic container has been rescued.

A bear that roamed Florida for 28 days with its face stuck inside a plastic container has been rescued.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Monday that the 250-pound female black bear, which proved elusive for three full weeks despite an extensive trapping effort, was recently located and tranquilized.

The plastic container, believed to be part of an automatic pet feeder, was carefully removed from the bear’s head.

Biologists say the animal was able to breathe, eat and drink thanks to a hole in the container near the bear’s muzzle.

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“Even after 28 days of wearing it, the bear was still in great physical shape,” My FWC Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC) stated in a news release. “She did have a wound encircling her neck and face where the feeder was stuck, but staff cleaned the injury and treated her with antibiotics.”

The bear was monitored for 36 hours before she was released “in a secure area of Picayune Strand State Forest.”

The accompanying video contains images showing part of the rescue effort and the bear running to freedom.

The FWC credited biologists, contractors, and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office for the rescue. The agency also thanked residents of Golden Gate Estates “for working together to rescue this bear.”