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2h ago

Michigan DNR Frees Bear Trapped by Drum Lid After Two Years

The 110-pound animal was captured on June 2 in a baited enclosure, had a five-inch drum lid removed under anesthesia, then was released healthy despite neck scars.

In this image provided by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, DNS staffers, from left, Angela Kujawa, Sherry Raifsnider and Miranda VanCleave work to remove a lid from the neck of an immobilized black bear near Hillman, Michigan, on June 3, 2025.
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A trail camera on private property in Hillman, Michigan, captured this photo of a black bear with a lid stuck on its neck.

Overview

  • First recorded as a cub in 2023, the black bear eluded biologists until late May when a Hillman homeowner’s trail cameras captured it still wearing the plastic lid.
  • With landowner permission, DNR specialists set a baited enclosure trap on June 2, anesthetized the bear and safely cut away the five-inch drum lid lodged around its neck.
  • Post-rescue examinations showed the two-year-old weighed 110 pounds, a healthy size for its age, but had significant scarring and an abscess where the lid had abraded its skin.
  • The bear was released back into its northern Lower Peninsula habitat once it regained consciousness and will be monitored to ensure full recovery.
  • The episode underscores Michigan’s baiting rules, which require container openings smaller than one inch or larger than 22 inches to prevent wildlife entrapment.