Print

Bear Cubs Rescued from Dumpster

The video of the three bear cubs being rescued from a dumpster in Ruidoso, NM went viral and made the Internet rounds back in July of this year. Maybe because it is the time of year for heartwarming stories that affirm our faith in humanity and goodwill, the video is again being picked up and shared across the social media.

Dubbed the 3 Stooges by Ruidoso resident Shirley Schenk, the bear cubs had gotten caught in the dumpster after they went inside to explore. Their mother is an old hand at manipulating the latch on the dumpster so that her cubs can hunt for snacks, but not so much at getting them back out of the dumpster.

Shirley Schenk and her husband, Tom, live close to the dumpster and heard the cubs crying to their mother throughout the night while the mother bear waited helplessly outside of the dumpster. In the morning when it was safe, the Schenks took action. With Tom at the wheel and Shirley in the bed of their pickup truck holding a short ladder, they backed the truck up close to the dumpster and, as the mother bear held back to the side, Shirley placed the ladder inside the dumpster. Within moments the cubs came toppling over the edge of the dumpster and the mother turned and headed up the road, looking over her shoulder to make sure the cubs were following.

Mrs. Shenck said it has not been the first time they had to save mother bear’s (affectionately known as Fertile Myrtal in the rural Ruidoso community) cubs from a fix, and it likely will not be the last, as she is rarely seen without a group of three cubs trailing behind her.

Headline and front page images: Brown bears (not the Ruidoso bears), by Tony Campbell / via Shutterstock