Anytime you see an animal trying to cross the street, the polite thing to do is patiently wait for them to get to the other side. That’s the best way to ensure that they safely get to their next destination. Well, that’s what one police officer decided to do when he saw a family of bears crossing. However, when he noticed that one of the babies couldn’t keep up with the group he decided to take action!
20. The Officer
Image: Town of Tamworth NH
On an unassuming day, one officer from the Town of Carroll Police Department in New Hampshire was driving around town. Everything was going as usual when he noticed something that made him stop his car. He was taken aback by the situation.
19. Crossing The Road
Image: Facebook
Right in front of his car was a group of bears crossing the street. The officer quickly braked and allowed the bears to cross. So how many bears were crossing?!
18. A Whole Family
Image: Facebook
In front of the car was a mama bear and her four cubs. They were all following along behind her mama and were trying to get across as quickly as possible. Then, the officer noticed something terrible happen!
17. Follow Along
Image: NTD.tv
The mama bear was trying to get all four of her babies to continue moving along. However, one cub couldn’t keep up and was falling behind. It seemed that the cub was too ill to continue to move and the mama bear had a hard decision to make.
16. The Decision
Image: Wide Open Spaces
The baby eventually had enough and just couldn’t keep up, so he stopped in the middle of the road and refused to get up. The mama bear noticed but decided that she couldn’t risk the lives of all of her cubs. She kept on walking forward with the rest of her cubs.
15. Heartbreaking
Image: Facebook
It was a heartbreaking sight for the officer to see. He couldn’t believe that the cub was being left behind and his instincts quickly kicked into gear. The officer knew he couldn’t leave the cub out there to die.
14. Intervention
Image: YouTube
The officer quickly got out of his vehicle and scooped up the baby bear. He realized that the bear was too ill to be reunited with its mother. So the officer decided t get the bear it needed.
13. Helping Out
Image: Facebook
“After doing some bear traffic control we had to take one bear cub in for Fish and Game to be rehabilitated as it was too weak to keep up with its mom and siblings,” wrote the police department. However, it seems that the little cub wasn’t the only abandoned sibling of the group.
12. 5 Cubs
Image: Facebook
It turns out that the mama bear had five cubs, not four. The fifth cub was found later in the same day and was also brought into the rehabilitation center. This cub was also too weak to continue on with the journey.
11. Reunited
Image: Facebook
Once the other cub had been discovered, he was quickly reunited with his sibling at the rehabilitation center. The two cubs will be taken care of until they are strong enough to be placed back into the wild. Although they lost their mama, they still had each other.
10. Police Department
Image: Facebook
“This is the mother that had five cubs out in Bretton Woods, another cub [the runt of the litter] had to be picked up yesterday as well. This leaves her with three other very healthy cubs that she can now focus on and take care of. The other two will be rehabilitated and returned to the wild when they are stronger,” said the police department.
9. Filming
Image: Facebook
Jane Langmaid filmed the entire situation as it occurred. Langmaid quickly explained the background of the situation and where it was all taking place. Thanks to her, there is great video footage of the officer rescuing the poor abandoned cub.
8. The Location
Image: Windows 10 Spotlight Images
Langmaid explained that the situation had occurred in Bretton Woods. Bretton Woods happens to be a part of White Mountain National Forest. This national forest has more than 750,000+ acres of protected wilderness. You won’t believe the kinds of animals you’ll find in the woods!
7. Tons of Species
Image: MangoVerde
There are a wide variety of animals that you’ll spot in the national forest. Some of them include an extensive 184 species of birds. However, you won’t just be bird watching in these woods for there are tons of big mammals lurking around too.
6. Big Mammals
Image: Chapman Sanctuary
While trekking through the White Mountain National Forest you’ll be sharing space with some pretty huge mammals. Some of these include the Bob Cat, moose, deer, coyote, and of course, the black bear. However, you’ll be shocked at just how many black bear inhabit the wooded areas.
5. Bear Population
Image: Travel + Leisure
The national forest has only one bear species hanging out in its woods and it happens to be the black bear. There are around 4,800 to 5,000 bears throughout the entire state. So your chances of running into a bear are pretty high.
4. Bear Watch
Image: Wise About Bears
With all these bears around, it’s no wonder that the officer in our story ran into a whole family. Langmaid described the moment when she was filming the situation. She was amazed by the entire situation…
3. Amazing Experience
Image: Facebook
“I had the pleasure of watching the officer and cubs in action… and making this video which demonstrates the problem as well as the great love of the bear family and care by the officer… very amazing and great job!” Langmaid wrote.
2. Great Care
Image: North American Bear Center
Thanks to the officer’s dedication, the baby bear got a new lease on life. Without his care, the baby bear would mostly likely not have survived the situation. It is a sad reality check but it is often the way things would turn out.
1. Dedicated Individuals
Image: The Digital Picture
This story is truly a testament to how much one individual can change the course of events in an animal’s life. Now these two baby cubs that were deserted will lead an entirely different life and it’s all thanks to one officer.