Bear rescued after head gets stuck in cookie jar

RINGWOOD (AP) — State environmental staffers came to the rescue when a young black bear cub got his head stuck in an oversized jar and had to be rescued from a tree in north Jersey.

Bear cub is hydrated after his head was freed from a jar in north Jersey (NJ DEP)

Environmental Protection Department spokesman Larry Ragonese says it appears that the 6-month-old cub found the animal crackers jar in a trash can in a Ringwood neighborhood on Friday night. As the 28-pound animal tried to eat what remained in the jar, he apparently pulled the jar over his head and it got stuck.

The cub became spooked when approached and went up a nearby tree, but got wedged about 40 feet up."It was an oversized animal cracker jar. We suspect he got it from a neighbor's trash container. We did find trash on the ground," DEP spokesman Larry Ragonese told the Record. "He was trying to eat what remained in the jar and pulled the jar over his head He got spooked and went up into the tree."

DEP staffers arranged netting in case the bear fell to the ground. After the animal was tranquilized by a DEP biologist, it was brought down and local firefighters gingerly cut the jar off its head.

Ragonese suggests that people who live in areas where bears are known to wander should use bear-proof trashcans and not feed bears if they appear in their yard.