Wildlife officers shoot bear with jar stuck on head

Minnesota wildlife officials tried for six days to capture a bear that had a plastic jar stuck over its head, but ended up killing the animal after it wandered into a city during a festival.

The wild black bear - whose head got stuck inside a 10-litre clear plastic jug presumably while foraging for food - ambled into the city of Frazee, 320 kilometres northwest of the Twin Cities, during the town's busy Turkey Days celebration.

"When it got into town, our main concern was public safety," said Rob Naplin, the Department of Natural Resources' area wildlife supervisor in Park Rapids.



While the bear could breathe, it couldn't eat or drink and was likely suffering from dehydration and hunger. "I'm sure there was high anxiety and frustration with its predicament," Naplin said.

In the six days that followed the initial sighting of the bear, officials tried to trap it, tranquilize it in numerous locations, but to no avail. By the time the animal showed up in Frazee, conservation officers decided it needed to be killed to avoid conflicts with humans.

"You don't want it knocking over a kid or getting hit by a car," Naplin said. "Showing up in Frazee escalated the urgency of dispatching it."