Blame it on the animal crackers. A plastic jar of the treats was too enticing for a young bear in New Jersey, which got its head irretrievably wedged in the container. When people approached it to help, the 28-pound bear cub got scared — and climbed 40 feet up a tree, where it became stuck.
The incident happened in Ringwood, a small New Jersey town that's situated among forests and parkland. Workers from the state Environmental Protection Department and other local agencies got the cub safely back down and cut the jar off its head — but not before taking a photo of its plight.
The cub is around 6 months old, reports local CBS News, which cites state EPD spokesman Larry Ragonese in reporting that such problems "usually can be traced back to homeowners who leave their trash outside overnight or don't use 'bear-proof' trash cans."
The bear is reportedly recuperating from the ordeal, which left it dehydrated.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.