A Pennsylvania fisherman saved a bear cub from drowning in a lake (iStock)
A tiny baby bear survived a near drowning incident thanks to one Pennsylvania fisherman.
Brad Meck was fishing in his boat on Raystown Lake on Sunday when he noticed something bobbing in the water. At first he thought it was just a log, until he got closer to the object and realized it was a small bear cub bobbing in the water, reports WTOL.
Meck said the cub could barely keep its snout above water and moved quickly toward the boat. Although the fisherman was initially hesitant to reach for the animal, he says doing nothing wasn’t an option, according to WTOL.
"It was going to drown if I didn't help it. I never thought anything else other than get it, help it and take it to shore,” he told WTOL.
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Just as he went to grab the cub out of the water, Meck said he hoped it wouldn’t bite him, but the bear showed no signs of being hostile or aggravated. Once in the boat, the cub sneezed out some water and calmly sat by the fisherman’s side.
With no cell phone service in the middle of the lake, Meck decided to take the bear to shore where he had seen the cub trying to swim.
“I kind of figured maybe the mom swam across first, and because the baby was so little, it was struggling," Meck said. "I just figured she’d be up on the bank somewhere, so that’s where I dropped it off and figured hopefully they'd get reunited again."
Once on dry land, Meck said the cub looked back at him before heading into the woods.
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While Meck’s story has a happy ending, the Pennsylvania Game Commission recommends people not physically contact animals in the wild in a situation like this and contact them instead, according to WTOL.