Queensland firefighters find black bear trapped in car while fighting Canadian wildfires
A group of Australian firefighters got more than they bargained for when they came face-to-face with a black bear while helping to fight wildfires in Canada.
The Queensland Rural Fire Service firefighters, on deployment in the Canadian province of Alberta, said they had been warned of bears in the area.
But it was several weeks before they experienced their “antics” firsthand.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“We were warned of bears and their antics,” one of the fireys, who preferred not to be identified, told 7NEWS.
“Only to find three quarters through our 40-day stint a black bear had made its way through three of our vehicles.”
He said the bear had broken into three cars apparently looking for food — leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
“We didn’t realise he was in there until we tried to load up the cars to go back to our accommodation,” the firey said.
“Fun fact, bears can open car doors.”
It is believed after breaking into the third car, the wild animal became trapped when the fireys landed nearby in a helicopter after their day’s work fighting the fires.
The rotor wash, or wind, from the helicopter blew the car door closed on the bear, trapping it inside.
The bear is believed to have been stuck for about 10 minutes before it was released by a fire incident controller, who smashed the driver’s side window to get the animal out.
The bear wasted no time jumping from the car and running into the nearby forest.
“He was again seen eating some berries the next day (and was) perfectly fine,” the firey said.
