Man helps save black bear stuck in deep snow, waits overnight with animal for rescuers | VIDEO
"I drove 300 miles to save a bear, and I would again."
WANNASKA, Minn. -- A black bear was seen stuck in the deep snow of Wannaska, Minnesota, which prompted the Department of Natural Resources to assist in safely relocating the animal on February 6.
Video recorded by Nathan Phillip Johnson shows the upper half of the large bear up close, as the bottom half of the immobile animal was trapped in the snow. Johnson later backs away from the bear, revealing the trench he had been working on in an attempt to help rescue the animal.
"I spent the whole night with [the] bear until DNR arrived," Johnson said.
Johnson told Storyful he's been studying bears for 10 years and that he runs a nonprofit organization in Minnesota called A Bears Life, which was why he was contacted about the stuck bear.
"I found out through people calling me," Johnson said. "I drove 300 miles to save a bear, and I would again."
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources published to Facebook later that day that a biologist had "examined the bear and pronounced him healthy but groggy." They added that the bear was then safely relocated to a "state game sanctuary so that he can continue hibernating."
