Deputies rescue bear cub trapped in dumpster near Lake Tahoe

Deputies used a ladder to free a bear cub trapped in a dumpster near Lake Tahoe.

August 30, 2019, 5:05 AM

Sheriff's deputies near Lake Tahoe arrived ready to help on Tuesday morning after receiving a call from a motel that a bear cub was trapped in a nearby dumpster.

When Placer County officers arrived at the motel in Kings Beach, just west of the California-Nevada state line, they found the cub's sibling making an adorable attempt to open the dumpster. A concerned mama bear also was on the scene.

PHOTO: Deputies in Placer County, California, responded to a call of a bear cub trapped in a dumpster at a motel in Kings beach, near Lake Tahoe.
Deputies in Placer County, California, responded to a call of a bear cub trapped in a dumpster at a motel in Kings beach, near Lake Tahoe.
Placer County Sheriff's Office

In video posted to Facebook by the sheriff's office, the trapped cub is heard wailing as the deputies come up with their game plan.

Once the mama bear and sibling move away from the dumpster, one officer uses a police vehicle to block off the dumpster. The video shows an officer use a pole to push open the lid and then another officer very carefully places a ladder inside the dumpster.

PHOTO: Deputies in Placer County, California, used a ladder to help free a bear cub trapped in a dumpster.
Deputies in Placer County, California, used a ladder to help free a bear cub trapped in a dumpster.
Placer County Sheriff's Office

After a few seconds, the cub emerges, and it runs off to rejoin its worried family.

PHOTO: The bear cub climbed the ladder, leaped out of the dumpster, and scampered off to rejoin its family.
The bear cub climbed the ladder, leaped out of the dumpster, and scampered off to rejoin its family.
Placer County Sheriff's Office

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