Curtis Pirie was surprised when he spotted a bear while dealing with a loose bike chain in Oliver, B.C. His wife had shown him a picture of the bear on social media just an hour before. Initially, Pirie couldn’t recognize the bear as it had a large stove pipe stuck on its head while wandering in an orchard.
Pirie and his neighbor tried to remove the pipe from the bear’s head by approaching it sideways but failed. The bear eventually climbed up a tree, and Pirie’s wife contacted the B.C. Conservation Officer Service. After two hours of waiting, conservation officers arrived from Kelowna and tranquilized the bear.
The bear took about five minutes to be sedated and then got stuck in the tree. With the help of a large pole, Pirie, his neighbor, and the officers guided the bear down and successfully removed the pipe from its head.
According to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, they had been receiving reports about the bear for about 10 days before the incident. The bear had previously evaded capture twice. The bear was found near a golf course in the Fairview Road area, appearing thin and disoriented after having the pipe on its head for approximately 10 days.
Despite its thin appearance, the bear was still considered healthy, and after being observed drinking water, it was relocated back to the woods near Oliver. The reason for the pipe getting stuck on the bear’s head remains unknown, highlighting the importance of keeping attractants away and promptly contacting authorities in such situations.
