A brown bear trapped in a four-meter-deep garbage pit was rescued in Dege County, southwest China's Sichuan Province on Thursday, after police and villagers jointly endeavored to build a wooden ladder to deliver the animal to safety.
Local officers rushed to the site and found the bear stranded at the bottom of the pit, and its repeated attempts to escape all failed due to steep and slippery walls.
As the pit was adjacent to village houses, the bear might threaten to villagers around at any time, so police quickly evacuated local residents and set up a cordon for their safety.
Then officers and villagers, proceeding from the real situation, fashioned a makeshift ladder out of sturdy logs and lowered it into the pit. The frightened bear, however, knocked the ladder down in panic.
A second ladder was quickly secured and lowered. This time, the bear cautiously tested the structure, then hauled its heavy body upward inch by inch before vaulting over the pit wall and running back into the deep forest.
The brown bear, known locally as the Zang Ma Xiong, is a species under the second class state protection. Police believe the animal fell into the pit while searching for food. To prevent similar incidents, a protective fence has since been installed at the pit opening.
Brown bear rescued from garbage pit in Sichuan
Brown bear rescued from garbage pit in Sichuan
