Animal Lovers’ Heroic Efforts: Tennessee Bear Cub Rescued After Nearly 2 Months With Plastic Container Stuck on Its Head

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency took action when a bear got a jug from an automatic pet feeder stuck on its head

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

A bear in Tennessee is “in remarkably good condition” after living with its head trapped in a plastic jug for nearly two months.

On Aug. 14, a bear cub was spotted and reported to both the Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR) and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) for having its head trapped in a container, the ABR nonprofit shared on Facebook.

The male cub lived with its face stuck in the container for nearly two months after the initial sighting. Now the animal is “resting well” after a TWRA biologist approached and captured the bear cub while it was sleeping and assisted in removing the jug on Tuesday, following a few unsuccessful trap attempts.

The cub was initially seen with the jug on its head this summer as it traveled alongside its mother and three siblings in Blount County, Tennessee. As temperatures contained to hover over 90 degrees, the organizations realized “time was of the essence,” ABR shared to Facebook.

“TWRA biologist Janelle Musser took immediate action, setting traps in the area that the bear family was seen,” the organization wrote, adding that the area of the bears was out of cell service. “Fortunately, citizens in the area shared our concern for the cub. The community banded together, and everyone who saw the bear immediately contacted TWRA or ABR (or both). We can’t thank our local citizens enough for all they did to help this little bear!”

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While the cub did enter traps on multiple occasions, the bear didn’t trip then, but an eventual “call from citizens in the area” ended up saving the animal’s life.

After locals spotted the “jug cub” and chased it up a tree on Oct. 3, they called TWRA, and Musser led the team that finally removed the container from the cub’s head.

“Darting bears in trees is not standard practice and is only done in an emergency,” Musser said, per Knox News. “This cub would not be able to continue surviving like this.”

After the bear cub was tranquilized, rescuers brought the little animal to ABR to have the container around its head removed.Mother Bear and Cub Raid Fully Stocked Krispy Kreme Delivery Van in Alaska

The jug ended up being part of an automatic pet feeder and contained two holes, allowing the animal to eat and breathe despite the roadblocks he faced.

“It was likely difficult for the bear, but he was apparently able to still get a small amount of food and enough water to survive all this time,” ABR posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). “The first call we received was on August 14th, and on October 3rd, the jug was finally removed!”

Juggles Bear — as he’s been affectionately called by the ABR rehabilitation center in Townsend where the cub’s been recovering — was eventually transported to the University of Tennesse’s College of Veterinary Medicine for a medical check and was found to be in “remarkably good condition.”

The cub, whose ears were “squashed down,” had them cleaned by doctors with a “special laser treatment” to stimulate “healing” in the cartilage, according to the nonprofit.

“He had a bunch of ticks, likely because he couldn’t groom himself. The ticks were removed,” ABR shared to Facebook. “Doctors took lots of samples, including a urine sample. Late yesterday, UTCVM called to let us know that Juggles had a high white blood cell count in his urine. He has a urinary tract infection. The infection is likely the result of too little fluid intake. We started antibiotic treatment last night.”

Despite these hurdles, Juggles is now “resting well,” as he’s “eating well, taking his meds, and sleeping on his bed.”

“Thank you for all you do for our little bears,” the nonprofit added. “You are the difference for all of these orphaned and injured bears. We hope all of them will be released back to the wild later this year.”