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Police called to rescue bear cub that locked itself in ute

Incredible footage shows the moment police officers rescued a bear cub that somehow locked itself inside a ute, as its mother tried desperately to open the vehicle’s door but busted the handles in the process.

Police in the Californian town of Truckee, Nevada County responded to a report of a bear cub locked un a pick-up truck.

California police called to rescue a bear cub that locked itself in a ute.
The cub’s mother busted the door handles trying to free her baby. Source: Truckee Police

The curious creature somehow opened the door of the unlocked vehicle and let itself in, but “the doors closed behind the cub and the mom was left outside,” Truckee Police said in a statement.

The mother bear tried to free her cub but “she tried a little too hard and broke the door handles off, leaving no way out for her cub”.

California police called to rescue a bear cub that locked itself in a ute.
Police officers rescued the bear cub that somehow locked itself in a ute. Source: Truckee Police

The video recorded at the scene of the rescue begins with officers first using beanbag rounds to drive the mother bear away from the truck, to allow them to get close to help rescue her little one without the protective mum attacking.

“Sorry, Momma Bear,” one officer can be heard saying. “You’re pretty!”

California police called to rescue a bear cub that locked itself in a ute.
The bear cub stuck its head out of the window then hung the rest of its body out, somersaulting out of the window. Source: Truckee Police

The tactic worked, and once the adult bear scampered away, the officers were able to swoop in and bust the window, allowing the cub an escape route to free itself safely.

The cub stuck its head out of the window then hung the rest of its body out, somersaulting out of the window, before running away in the same direction as its mother.

The police department shared the video on Saturday as a reminder for motorists to always lock their vehicle doors.

Footage of the rescue comes two weeks after wildlife officials in the US state of Maryland tracked a black bear cub for three days in order to tranquilise it and remove a bucket that got stuck on its head.