Our list of whacky black bear antics continues to grow longer by the week.
Entertaining stories have recently been shared about bears stealing backpacks, vandalizing cars, chilling on a couch, relaxing in a hot tub, cruising downhill with mountain bikers, crashing pool parties, and getting chased out of backyards.
Add getting stuck on a utility pole in Arizona to that list.
This one was a little scarier for the bear than the others though.
After getting wedged at the top of the pole, utility workers had to disable the power lines and help free the bear from its predicament.
“Warner Neubauer and Efren Gallego of the Sulphur Spring Valley Electric Co-op coaxing a young bear off a utility pole in Willcox yesterday.
They cut power to the pole before going up in their boom truck basket.
The bear, likely startled up the pole, then moved off uninjured.”
According to Fox 10 Phoenix, the bear was freed by utility lineman Werner Neubauer who stumbled upon the stuck bruin while monitoring his work route.
“He was in a pretty dangerous spot. Could’ve very easily gotten himself electrocuted. He was real close to a phase energized at 7,500 volts. He was in a dangerous spot.”
Neubauer used a bucket truck to lift himself up towards the top of the pole near the bear after the electric line was shut off, causing residents in the area to lose power for approximately 15 minutes.
“When I started going up towards him, he covered his eyes and wouldn’t look at me, it was funny like he was hiding. So he covered his eyes until I got up close and started talking to him like ‘oh I guess he can see me.
I stayed out of reach. Didn’t get close enough so he could swat me or bite me or something. Wasn’t in danger.”
Neubauer reportedly used an 8-foot fiberglass stick to try to nudge the bear to go down. He even tried talking to the bear to calm it down.
“I think I told him I was gonna help him get down the pole… I know he couldn’t understand me. But it did get his attention.”
After initially biting and pawing at the stick, the bear eventually freed itself and scrambled down the pole before running off.
