Why It's a Good Idea to Leave Black Bear Cubs in the Woods
Officers at Myrtle Creek Police Department received a surprising visitor at the station on Monday when a young man dropped off a black bear cub.
Police Chief Don Brown said the man heard the cub's distress calls outside of his house, and brought it to the station in a large plastic container with a lid. Officers "babysat" the cub at the station all night until the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife picked it up in the morning, Brown said.
Though the man ended up helping the cub, Brown said it was a "very, very dangerous" decision to take matters into his own hands.
"Had mama bear been around the corner and seen him yelling, she would have attacked him without hesitation," he said.
Officers returned to the location where the cub was found and tried to call the mother, Brown said, but were unable to find her. The cub is now at the University of Oregon receiving a veterinary checkup, and after that will be released into a yet-undetermined wildlife sanctuary.