Excavator rescues drowning bear in northwest China

LANZHOU -- A northwestern Chinese city used an excavator to retrieve a brown bear that had fallen into a canal.

The animal rescue station in the city of Jiuquan, Gansu province, said they found the bear clinging to the canal's metal bank to prevent itself from being swept away by turbulent water on Oct. 18.

"The bear was soaked, so we guess it had been struggling in the water for hours," said Li Lichun, head of the station, adding that the animal might have tumbled into the canal trying to drink the water.

Approaching a ferocious bear was dangerous, so rescuers drove in an excavator and used its bucket to scoop out the beast.

"The bear seemed exhausted and sleepy, so we were able to get it out using the excavator," said Tu Wei, head of the wildlife authority of Jiuquan's Subei county, where the bear was found.

The bear was then placed into an improvised steel cage before being driven to the rescue station. Li said they had prepared "nutritious meals" for it.

"The bear is now in good conditions," Li said. "Actually it recovered quickly and started to show its aggressiveness hours after being rescued."