Mother Bear and Three Cubs Rescued from Water Storage Tank in California

A mother bear and her three cubs were rescued after being trapped for hours inside a large water storage tank in La Verne, California, on Saturday. Rescue video captured the moments as the mother emerged from the tank, pausing to look around while first responders attempted to reassure her. Glendora residents Eric McDonald and Jamie Kirk were the first to notice the bear family inside the tank around 8 a.m. Kirk stated, "We climbed up top, and there’s a small hole and right away we see a bear staring at us, kind of holding on to the walls because it was full of water," as reported by ABC News. Firefighters quickly initiated "Operation Care Bear" to save the family, who had been trapped inside the dark concrete structure for over 12 hours. Authorities believe the bears were likely seeking water amid the hot and humid weather when they entered through the narrow, one-foot-wide opening on top of the cistern. Before firefighters could act, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife drained the remaining water from the tank to prevent the animals from drowning. The original opening of the tank was too small for first responders to enter or for the mother to squeeze through. Crew members used a power saw to cut a larger access hole into the side of the tank and lowered a ladder inside, creating a makeshift ramp for the bears to climb out. While one cub managed to escape on its own earlier in the ordeal, the remaining three bears required additional coaxing. LAFD’s Keith Navarre noted, "They were exhausted, so it took a few minutes for the first cub to come out, then the second cub got out, and then finally the mother," according to the news outlet. Authorities confirmed that the lone cub who had escaped earlier was safely reunited with the rest of the family as they returned to the wild.