ON WING: The same Smethport reader who reported a flock of geese
has called with more bad news. Her male hummingbirds are all gone,
and only three females remain. Yikes.

JARHEADS: Yesterday, we showed readers a comical photo of a
skunk with a peanut butter jar stuck on its head. This skunk story
had a happy ending, though. He was freed from the jar and waddled
off to spray another day.

For many animals, though, such encounters with human “litter”
end in tragedy, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

The dire nature of these incidents is evident in a July event in
Wayne County when a bear was spotted wandering around with a large
jar on its head.

Wildlife Conservation Officer Jim McCarthy requested a trap
after it was reported that the bear had been wandering around
making loud noises as it tried to breathe, and temperatures were in
the 80s. The bear had been returning to Dumpsters in the area even
though it was unable to eat so McCarthy set the trap and returned
at 5 a.m. the next day.

There was a bear in the trap – but it was the wrong one. After
processing the captured bear, he reset the trap to try again.
Around 2:30 p.m., the bear with the jug was captured in the
trap.

“When I arrived, the bear was making very loud gasping sounds
that could be heard before we reached the trap,” McCarthy said. “I
looked in a hole in the trap and there was a bear with a pretzel
bucket stuck on its head. I quickly injected it with a tranquilizer
dart, which took effect in about three minutes.”

To get the bucket off, he had to use his tin snips and cut
through the rim of the pretzel bucket. “Almost immediately you
could hear an improvement in the bear’s breathing, it was almost
like it let out a big sigh. I poured water over the bear to cool it
down.”

The bear turned out to be a 90-pound female cub. It had a
noticeable ring around her neck where the bucket was.

“Once I administered the reversal drug, she woke up, but was
apparently exhausted, and took about an hour to gain enough
strength to run off into the woods,” McCarthy said.

A close call, but a happy ending!