A young brown bear got himself into quite a “hair-raising” situation when he got stuck up a utility pole in Wilcox, Arizona. The bear was rescued by a worker from a utility company who saw the situation and called their supervisor. Lineman Warner Newbauer of Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Co-op and Apprentice Lineman Galego of Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Co-op were dispatched to the animal’s aid.
The pair shared a video of their rescue footage with ViralHog and Newbauer wrote how the bear’s life was seriously at risk:
“When we got there we found that the bear was in a very dangerous situation and could get itself electrocuted at any time. The lines near the bear’s head were energized with 7200 volts. If he was to touch one of those it would have killed him instantly.”
They cut off the power immediately and returned to the bear at the pole. Utility workers approached the bear using the boom truck’s basket.
“As we were setting up our bucket truck the bear was watching us from the top of the pole, but when I started moving up towards him in the bucket he covered his eyes with his front leg as if he was trying to hide. When I got up close to him, maybe 6 feet away, I started talking to him, and then he looked up at me.”
Newbauer started to speak to the bear about 6 feet away. He used an 8-foot fiberglass pole to coax him down. The bear didn’t like that too much and kept grabbing the stick and biting it. But after a while, Newbauer was able to get the bear into a better position, “and then he climbed down the pole on his own and ran away.”
