Forestry workers discovered this wailing cub stuck up a tree above its worried mother and another cub in an Italian woodland.
Although initially reluctant to go near the cub, because of the extreme danger of going near a young bear when its mother is around, they quickly realised that the cub had no chance of getting down from the tree on its own.
It had one of its legs trapped between two trees in the Val di Jon in the Italian municipality of San Lorenzo Dorsino.
As a result, the Trentino Forestry Corps set up an emergency operation to make sure that the bear cub would be freed without risk to the forestry workers from the mother bear.
This video footage shows the mother bear looking worriedly at the helicopter as it moves in position over the cub, which is stuck in the tree, trapped by its foot. A short while later, she disappears into the trees, but still remains close by.
Two forestry workers then move towards the struggling cub, which risks breaking its leg as it twists and turns trying to escape from the men and the helicopter. One of the men armed with a chainsaw then moves into position after carefully checking that the mother bear is not around, and first of all removes a small tree before then chopping the larger tree, sending the trunk and the bear cub toppling to the ground.
The mother bear, which remained in the area but hidden from the helicopter, was then reunited with her baby as it dashed away into the woods.
Fortunately, it can clearly be seen that the cub was moving without suffering any injuries from the incident.
The forestry workers were also protected by dogs, which acted a further incentive for the worried mother bear to keep away, and all of the various elements were coordinated by radio.
They said that staff on the ground also had a bear spray and a gun as a final resort, which were fortunately not necessary.
Footage of the rescue operation taken from a helicopter shows the team swiftly and efficiently freeing the bear cub, and the forestry officials urged people to keep an eye on the map letting them know where mother bears and cubs are located and to avoid contact with them at all costs and do nothing to alarm them.
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Story By: Tijana Milikj, Sub-Editor: James King, Agency: Newsflash
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