Bear Rescue

Bears Rescued at Cascade Vacation Rentals

The text came in at 7:31 AM.

“I just went to the dumpster and both bars were on it and when I opened it the bear was sitting in the dumpster!! Wonder how that is even possible with it being barred shut?!? I ran off with my trash but didn’t put the bars back on or look to see if the bear jumped out.”

Bara, a Cascade Vacation Rentals housekeeper, got quite the shock when going to dispose of her garbage in the CVR campus dumpster early Wednesday morning. By 9 am the rest of the Cascade Vacation Rentals crew arrived at their Lutsen office. By then, the bear that Bara had spotted had indeed escaped from the dumpster and into a nearby tree. Owner Steve Surbaugh thought it was odd that the bear was lingering so he decided to investigate the situation further. Inside of the dumpster, he discovered the reason why the bear was hanging around the area. Two bear cubs, too small to make the escape by themselves.

With the help of employees Andrew Beavers and Mike “Chili” Groth, a plan was hatched. They decided to fashion a ladder out of a broken futon frame. They placed that inside of the dumpster on one end. Then, they tried to encourage the babies out from the other end. The plan worked! Within minutes the two babies were reunited with their mother waiting nervously in the tree.

Luckily for everyone, employees Sarah Somnis and Sarena Nelson were there to capture the daring escape on camera.

None of the bears were harmed and shortly after the rescue all three bears descended from the tree and ran off into the nearby woods. The staff is investigating how the bears managed to get into the dumpsters with the bear bars securely attached. For now, the dumpster is safe and bear-free!

See the original story at The Cascade Vacation Rentals Facebook Page.