MONTMORENCY COUNTY — A young black bear seen wandering Northern Michigan with a blue plastic lid stuck around its neck for the past two years was finally freed by state wildlife biologists earlier this month.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials said the 2-year-old male bear was safely trapped and sedated June 2 on private property near Hillman. The plastic lid — believed to be from a 55-gallon drum — was cut off, revealing significant scarring and an abscess on the bear’s neck.
Despite the injury, the bear appeared healthy and was released back into the woods after recovering from anesthesia.
The incident highlights the importance of Michigan’s bear-baiting regulations, said Cody Norton, the DNR’s bear, furbearer and small game specialist. Bait containers are only permitted on private land and must have hole openings either 1 inch or smaller or 22 inches or larger to prevent wildlife entrapment.
“Container openings of a certain size can result in bears and other wildlife getting their heads or other body parts stuck in them, leading to injury or death,” Norton said.
DNR biologists first spotted the then-cub in 2023 through trail camera photos, but the bear proved elusive until late May, when a local landowner again captured images of it. With permission from the landowner, the DNR team set a baited trap and caught the bear days later.
The blue plastic lid resembled those commonly used for bait barrels or feed containers. Norton urged landowners to secure garbage, crush and recycle containers, and follow BearWise tips to avoid attracting wildlife.
Michigan is home to roughly 13,000 black bears, including about 1,700 in the northern Lower Peninsula.
For more information on safely living near bears, visit bearwise.org.