Bear Release
Intro
We share with you here, for your possible entertainment, some of the Dr. Wayne adventures over the years. Some of them involve Wendy, and some do not. If you are interested, please read on.
If this is not your cup of tea, we hope you will find another section of interest.
The Bear Release
Those of you who know Dr. Wayne personally, know that he spares absolutely no expense nor effort when it comes to providing me (Wendy) with the most thoughtful, caring, & luxurious of vacations. When it comes to vacations, we go first class – nothing is too good. Best of husbands.
To this end he arranged for us a fishing vacation (yes – a fishing vacation) in Minnesota. Particular location was on an Indian reservation (yes – an Indian reservation) inside northern Minnesota’s Chippewa National Forest (yes - inside a national forest). We had a rustic cabin (yes – a rustic cabin) – they call it a ‘camp’ (yes – a camp). Lucky me. He told me he was so pleased because he made absolutely certain that our camp had an indoor bathroom! (yes – an indoor bathroom!). Wasn’t I thrilled. An indoor bathroom! Heck of a guy, my husband, he goes to such lengths to provide me with the very best. Laugh, please do, but on more than one of our previous adventures, we did not have an indoor bathroom. Again, heck of a guy, my husband. I told you, he spares no effort nor expense on my part.
So anyway, we arrived late at night in our rented 4 wheel. We drove through some pretty dense forest in our effort to find our ‘camp’. We finally got there. The ‘lodge’ (main camp building for bait & supplies), was closed, of course. Then on the lodge door, there is this note saying to BEWARE. A large black bear had been visiting and bothering our camp area for the past few weeks. It warned the folks in our cluster of camps to beware walking in the woods during the day. It said to avoid going outside at night. (Wayne of course, did both, looking for the bear).
Off in the woods not far from the camps, someone had placed an ancient, rickety bear trap – a rectangular structure made of welded rebar – again, quite old & rickety looking. The front door was held open by a rope, the rope attached/tied literally to a burlap bag containing camp food garbage. The ‘trap’ had been set there for weeks – but no visitors. Against recommendation, ‘Nosey Nellie’ (Wayne) visited this site a number of times. Nothing going on. OK.
On a number of days we drove out with guides to fish different lakes. All fish catch & release, of course, unless fish for dinner. Wayne had vigorously requested the camp owner to contact us by cell phone if by chance the bear were captured during our stay there. Then leave it to fate, we weren’t out on our second or third day of fishing, in the middle of some lake in the middle of nowhere, when the fishing guide’s cell phone rang late morning (cell phones sometime work in the most surprising of places). The bear was captured. Wayne was dancing in the boat. Told them we’re coming in. Don’t do anything drastic to the bear till he gets there.
End of fishing. We drove the boat back to lake edge, hauled it out of the water, cranked it onto the trailer, and washed off the hull (invasive species). We drove back to camp. There were a number of people gathered. A large black bear was caught inside the rickety old rebar cage trap, intermittently shaking the living daylights out of that old cage. I (and Wayne) were concerned the cage might disrupt, with possible subsequent human injury. But that didn’t happen, thank goodness.
A state wildlife official and a bear camp guide had arrived. And an out of work construction guy driving and owning one of those telephone like trucks was present. Most folk were herded out of the way. Wayne of course said he was a veterinarian, and got his nose into things (big surprise).
Bear in old cage and ready for 30 mile trip north to new home.
A man stood by with a rifle (see video) ready to shoot the bear if he escaped and attacked. Wayne made a big point to all concerned that the bear was not to be shot.
The plan was for the ‘telephone guy & truck’ to somehow & carefully hook a cable from the truck and onto the cage, with intent to pull the cage onto a flat trailer pulled by a pickup truck. And that is exactly what we did. See video. The plan worked reasonably well. Wayne is the one in the green tee shirt & jeans. The voice you hear in the background is Wayne talking to the bear, trying to calm him while they load him and pull him out of the woods. Listen carefully and you will hear Wayne talking to the bear.
So the telephone truck cable hoisted the big old cage onto a flat open trailer. Wayne and 2 others climbed into the pickup truck & drove the bear 20-30 miles north. At the release site, Wayne & 2 others are on the back of the pickup truck bed (in middle of nowhere), leaning over the top of the cage, avoiding swats of the big bear’s paws, trying to undo the cage door ‘latch’ to get it open. They finally got the darned door open & sort of jumped onto the cab of the pickup truck, fearful the bear might turn toward them and attack. But did not happen. With the door open, the bear took off, and ran and ran, with some considerable speed.
Wayne was happy. You just can’t make this stuff up.
The actual release. Dr. Wayne sitting just behind bear on bed of pick-up truck.
We hoped bear would not turn back to us for a conversation.
Please see the video
Dr. Wayne is the guy in green t-shirt & jeans. Listen - and you can hear him talking to the bear.