This was when a police chief risked his life to save a sick and defensive bear cub who was left alone.
While working as New Hampshire‘s White Mountain National Forest State Trooper, Thomas Owens has seen his share of black bears.
He was always taught not to get too close to the black bears, especially their protective mothers, but this situation was different.
After spotting a family walking along, he noticed that one of the cubs was struggling to keep up with its family and knew he had to step in.
He watched the mother take her cubs back and forth across the road to encourage the sick cub to keep up with them.
Despite this, the cub was struggling and eventually decided to sit down and rest right in the middle of the road.
Initially, the mother bear tried to get the cub up and follow her and the family, but after several failed attempts, it seemed that the cub was too weak to stand.
So the momma bear had a tough decision to make. She could take one of her three healthy cubs and leave the weak one behind.
Thomas knew he couldn’t just step outside and take in the little bear cub, fearing the mother would return and attack him, so he called for help.
While waiting for the New Hampshire fish and wildlife services to arrive, Thomas stayed with the cub.
When they finally arrived, the team decided to bring the cub to the local animal shelter for an inspection.
After the whole incident, Thomas found out that the mother bear actually had five cubs, and this one was the second she abandoned because it was weak.
Fortunately, the New Hampshire Fish & Wildlife officials found the cub just in time and brought him to join his brother at the rehabilitation center.
The pair stayed at a rehabilitation center until they recovered from their illness and were strong enough to be released into the wild.
Thanks to the actions taken by Officer Thomas Owens, the bears have been given another chance for life.
