Dad Brian said he could hear the bear huffing and breathing hard as it gasped for air inside the plastic container while swimming in the lake. It took the family two attempts to free the cub
A brave family has filmed the moment they saved a bear from suffocating after coming across it with a container stuck on its head during a fishing trip.
Brian Hurt, wife Tricia and son Brady were heading back to the shore on Marshmiller Lake near Bloomer, Wisconsin, in the US, when they spotted what looked like a floating log. But as they went up close, they realised it was moving.
In the video they shared on social media, the Hurt family is stunned when they find a black bear swimming in the middle of the lake.
Mum Tricia says: “Get closer, get up closer. Turn that wheel a little bit.
“We got a bear here. Poor thing it’s got a tub on its head. Oh, it’s getting scared.”
She tells her son Brady to drive the boat faster while husband Brian reaches over the side of the boat in a bid to pull the bucket off the cub’s head.
As the boat glides past the bear, the camera shows the beast gasping for air while the water slowly fills up the bucket.
The family decides to go for a second attempt and Brady manoeuvres the boat behind the poor bear.
The brave dad grabs onto the plastic jug as the bear splashes and manages to pull away.
Tricia says in excitement: “Yes, go! We save our little bear!”
“Good job buddy!” Brian adds.
The family have since recalled the dramatic experience with local outlet Kare11.
Brian said: “We made the first swing past it and I was able to grab the jug.
“And I pulled on it as hard as possible. But then I lost control and slipped off that wet plastic.
“When I was right over top of it and pulling on it, you could hear the bear huffing and breathing very hard, just gasping for air.
“Once I got it off you could really tell the difference, because, it was like, it could get proper air at that point, and it seemed like it revived quite a bit.”
Brady said the bear got its head stuck in a cheese puff container.
“It was a cheesy puff, a cheesy ball container,” he added. “One of those bulk-sized.”
