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catbyte

(34,174 posts)
Tue Apr 23, 2019, 04:13 PM Apr 2019

Man Leaps Into Freezing River To Save A Drowning Bear

"I believe we were meant to be there at that moment in time."

BY STEPHEN MESSENGER

Earlier this month, when Elijah Barkley headed out on a fishing trip with some friends and family in West Virginia, he never imagined that he'd end up saving a life.

But that's exactly what he did.



While traveling back to camp from the river, Barkley was stopped by a forest ranger accompanied by a bear handler. They asked him to be on the lookout for a lone, young bear in the area.

Turns out, the cub was an orphan, apparently having lost his mother — and based on recent sightings, was faring very poorly on his own.

Sure enough, not long after continuing on his way, Barkley spotted the bear in question.



"He looked as if he was just completely wore out or something was wrong, because we pulled up closer to him and he wouldn’t move," Barkley told The Dodo. "He kinda just stayed there."

The forest ranger and bear handler were still in the vicinity, so Barkley motioned them to the spot by the riverside where the cub appeared to be on the verge of collapse.



The bear handler, Joel Rosenthal, runs a wildlife rehab center called Point of View Farm, Inc. He'd been trying to track down the lonely cub in order to take him to his facility and save him.

As it turns out, Barkley had found the cub just in the nick of time.

Before Rosenthal had the chance to sedate him, the cub's paws gave out from under him while trying to cross the river. Too exhausted to even lift his head from the water, the cub was now beginning to drown.



With the cub drifting away downstream, his death seemingly imminent, Barkley leapt into action.

"I saw his head go down underwater, and that’s when I made the instinctive decision to run after the bear," he said. "My mind was so solely thinking of getting to that bear as fast as I could that I didn’t think about the risks."

Barkley traversed the slippery rocks at the riverside and jumped into the freezing water — swimming toward the cub before it was too late.

"I got to him pretty quickly, and immediately grabbed the bear by the scruff on the back of his neck," Barkley said.

He then hauled the cub to shore.



For several moments, the young bear remained lifeless — but then he slowly began to rouse. Barkley had reached him in time.

"I immediately carried him over to [Rosenthal] so he could check things out," Barkley said.

The bear, now safe, was tranquilized and wrapped in towels to sleep in the bear handler's truck.



The heroism of Barkley's actions wasn't lost on those who witnessed the scene — but he's just happy he was able to help.

"Everyone thanked me," Barkley said. "I had never in my life thought of an event that would take place like this. I believe we were meant to be there at that moment in time."

Now, things are looking up for the cub.



The young bear is regaining his strength under Rosenthal's watchful care at the rehab center — and, with any luck, will return to the wild in full health in the coming months.

"He is very small and starved, but we believe he will do great," Rosenthal told The Dodo. "He will gain weight and then be placed in another pen with other cubs from last year that lost their mothers to hunters. We hope we can release him this summer."

https://www.thedodo.com/in-the-wild/man-saves-drowning-bear-cub
8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Man Leaps Into Freezing River To Save A Drowning Bear (Original Post) catbyte Apr 2019 OP
Holy cow do I hate hunters ... Auggie Apr 2019 #1
Every word! BigmanPigman Apr 2019 #2
people who entertain themselves by hunting are cowards Skittles Apr 2019 #6
Truth sokpupet Apr 2019 #7
Soul at work. Karadeniz Apr 2019 #3
Today's positive story. Thanks! mahannah Apr 2019 #4
It doesn't say the mother was killed by a hunter, Cold War Spook Apr 2019 #5
IF the mother was killed by a hunter, it was illegal. TomSlick Apr 2019 #8

Auggie

(31,067 posts)
1. Holy cow do I hate hunters ...
Tue Apr 23, 2019, 06:13 PM
Apr 2019

Last edited Tue Apr 23, 2019, 07:03 PM - Edit history (1)

kill an adult and you kill the off-spring.

This cub was lucky.

Hunting. Killing. For sport. Bunch of sick fucks.

 

sokpupet

(7 posts)
7. Truth
Tue Apr 23, 2019, 07:02 PM
Apr 2019

I believe in hunting if you are going to eat your kill and do not hunt during birthing seasons. But...give an inch; take a mile. H.J. Res. 69 because the GOP lead by Trump's blind hate of Obama will reverse every good law put in place during his administration.

 

Cold War Spook

(1,279 posts)
5. It doesn't say the mother was killed by a hunter,
Tue Apr 23, 2019, 06:58 PM
Apr 2019

but if a person killed the mother isn't that poaching? Where can you hunt bears or deer in the Spring?

TomSlick

(11,035 posts)
8. IF the mother was killed by a hunter, it was illegal.
Tue Apr 23, 2019, 07:14 PM
Apr 2019

The bear season in West Virginia ended on December 31. It is also illegal to kill a bear accompanied by a cub.

[link:http://www.wvdnr.gov/hunting/Regs1819/2018-19_Hunting_Regs.pdf

No ethical hunter would kill a bear with a cub.

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