Bara Raah
Imagine the surprise of Cascade Vacation Rentals Employee Bara Raah when she went to empty her trash in the dumpsters at the CVR campus, and she found a bear cub trapped inside.
It was 7:31 a.m. on Wednesday, October 25 when Raah made her discovery.
A hungry mother bear and her two cubs somehow got through the two bear bars on the dumpster, but when it came time to exit, only the mama got free while her youngsters were trapped.
Raah texted the following message to the CVR maintenance team.
“I just went to the dumpster, and both bars were on it and when I opened it the bear was sitting in the dumpster! I wonder how that is even possible with 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.”
About 9 a.m. CVR owner Steve Surbaugh went to investigate, and he discovered not one, but two bear cubs trapped inside the dumpster. He also located the mama bear nearby up in a tree.
In a search of food, this bear cub and a fellow cub became stuck inside of a dumpster behind the Cascade Vacation Rentals office in Lutsen last week. CVR workers made a ladder for the two mischievous cubs so they could climb out and find their mama, who was high up in a nearby tree.
Surbaugh enlisted the help of CVR employees Andrew Beaver and Mike “Chili” Groth. The trio fashioned a ladder out of a broken futon frame which they found in the dumpster. They lowered the ladder into the metal trash container and then began banging on the side of it until one of the bears slowly crawled up the futon to freedom, joining its mother in the tree.
The second cub was more reserved, said Surbaugh. It poked its head out a few times before it bravely climbed the ladder and made its way to the safety of the family tree.
The entire rescue was videoed by CVR employees Sarah Somnis and Sarena Nelson. It can be viewed at www.facebook.com/CascadeVacationRentals/videos/10154892050091406/
While the bears made a safe retreat, the staff at CVR is investigating just how the bears managed to get into the dumpsters with the bear bars attached.
Cascade Vacation Rentals is Northern Minnesota’s largest local vacation rental company, with over 170 vacation rental properties. CVR is owned by Steve Surbaugh of Grand Marais and Mike Larson of Lutsen.
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