Bear cub found tangled in soccer net next to protective mom, CA rescuers say

A bear cub tangled in a soccer net at a park near Lake Tahoe received a helping hand from California wildlife officers, officials reported.

Officers responded to a park in Kings Beach on Thursday, May 15, to find a protective mom watching over her trapped cub, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a May 16 news release.

A photo with the release shows the bear and cub beside the white soccer net on the ground.

With the help of California State Parks workers, officers loosened the net to free the bear while keeping clear of the wary mom, officials said.

The rescue took about five minutes.

“The little one darted up a nearby tree, and after a quick reunion, both bears wandered peacefully back into the wild,” officers said in the release.

Kings Beach is about a 30-mile drive north from South Lake Tahoe.