Bear cub's head freed from jar

Weirsdale - A black bear cub in Florida can finally eat and drink comfortably again, after a jar was removed from his head. The plastic container was stuck on his head for 10 days.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists said the six-month-old animal, who they had nicknamed Jarhead, was just days away from death when they caught him. The cub, accompanied by his two siblings and mother, often made trips to trash containers in a small community near Weirsdale, in the Ocala National Forest. Late in July, a resident of the area called FWC to report a bear cub running around with a large, clear plastic jug stuck on its head. The agency asked people to inform them when the cub returned. "The residents were really great about calling us when they saw the bears, but it seemed like we were always about 20 minutes behind,” said Mike Orlando, of the FWC, in a press release. Traps were set to catch the mother bear, in hopes that officers would then be able to capture the cubs, but that plan didn’t work. After eight days went by without anyone seeing the bears, it was feared that the cub might have died. The day they decided to remove the traps, a resident had called to let them know the bears had returned. The FWC team found the bears and were able to shoot the mother with a tranquilizer dart. They were then able to get a hold of Jarhead and subdue him long enough to remove the container from his head. The sleeping mother was laid in a trap, and the cubs eventually joined her. Biologists later released them in a less populated area.