Officials save bear cub with plastic jar stuck on its head after three-day pursuit

A black bear cub has been freed after officials in Maryland led a three-day pursuit to help the animal get a bucket unstuck from its head.

The cub was tranquillized by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Heritage Service, with assistance from the Maryland Natural Resources Police, and later released back into the wild to go live its life.

A crowd of onlookers reportedly gathered when officials let the 100 pound animal go near the Wisp Resort in McHenry during the annual Autumn Glory Festival.

“Our response staff did an outstanding job dealing with this very public situation, and handled it in a most professional and responsible manner,” Paul Peditto, the director of the Wildlife and Heritage Service agency, told the Cumberland Times-News.

There are estimated to be around 600,000 black bears in North America, with sound 300,000 of those individual bears living in the United States.

The bears can be found in 40 states in the US, as well as in parts of Mexico and Canada.

The animals are very adaptable, and historically lived in virtually all wooded areas of North America. More recently, however, they have been restricted from living in wooded areas close to human populations.

They are considered to be a threatened species in the United States under the Endangered Species Act.