Wildlife officials came to the rescue of a bear that somehow managed to climb into a storm drain in Colorado Springs on Thursday.
It is not clear why it climbed into the storm drain, but officials believe it was attracted to the area because of a nearby dumpster filled with garbage and tree branches.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Southeast Region shared a video of the bruin climbing from the drain.
Officials were careful to free the bear without handling the animal. In a post to social media, they said once an animal is handled by officials it must be tagged — counting as a strike against the bear. A second strike and the bear would have to be euthanized.
To avoid this, officials removed the manhole cover and advised residents to lock themselves inside their homes. Then, they waited.
After six minutes, the bear exited the storm drain. One officer fired off a non-lethal rubber slug and others chased it into an open field “behind the Colorado Springs neighbourhood,” officials said on social media.
Officials said the aim was to deter the animal from venturing near homes again.