In Wilcox, Arizona, a young brown bear was in a very “hair-raising” position when it got caught on a utility pole. Luckily for the bear, a utility worker saw the bear in distress and asked their supervisor for help. Sulfur Springs Valley Electric Co-op dispatched Linemen Warner Neubauer and Apprentice Lineman Gallego to see if they could save the animal.
The duo shared a video of the rescue efforts with Verilog, and Neubauer described how the bear's life was in grave danger.
Watch this video below:
“When we arrived we found the bear was in a dangerous condition and was at risk of electrocution. A voltage of 7200 volts was applied to the lines near the bear's head. If he touched one it would kill him instantly.
The wires were instantly de-energized, and they quickly returned to the bear on the pole. From the cargo bed of the boom truck, utility workers approached the bear.
The bear was watching us from the top of the pole as we lifted our bucket truck, but as I approached him with the bucket, he covered his eyes with his front leg as if trying to hide. I approached him from about 6 feet away, and when I started talking to him, he turned to me.
With an 8-foot fiberglass pole, Neubauer tried to convince the bear to come down by talking to him from about 6 feet away. It didn't suit the bear at all, and he grabbed the stick and bit it. After a while, however, Neubauer managed to move the bear to a more advantageous position, at which point "he himself climbed down the pole and ran away."
They assume the bear is a young male weighing about 100 pounds.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department in Tucson said in their Facebook post: “US Hwy 191 west of Douglas was briefly closed yesterday while AZGFD, Douglas PD, Cochise County SO, and US Border Patrol chased a 200+ pound bear that was on two utility vehicles. . Poles at the edge of town. A crowd of two dozen spectators scattered as the bear descended the first pole. After it descended from the latter, it was used by patrol vehicles to fog westward. It is assumed that the bear was first spooked by increased daytime vehicle and pedestrian traffic. AZ State Service was watching because the bear could be electrocuted if it climbed too high. Tracks suggest it may have come from the Mill Hills. Meanwhile, AZGFD removed a 300-pound male bear from Hwy 82 between Tucson, Sonoita and Patagonia after it was struck by a vehicle and killed.
This isn't the first time a bear has tangled on power lines in Arizona. A month before this event, in May 2021, a large brown bear was found sitting on two power poles in Arizona. Still, this bear seemed to enjoy the opportunity to roam around.