Bear found stuck on power pole in southern Arizona city

WILLCOX, Ariz. (AP) — A bear in Arizona emerged unscathed from quite the power trip when it became stuck on a utility pole.

Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative, a utility company based in the southern Arizona city of Willcox, was notified Monday morning that a bear was tangled in power pole wires on the outskirts of town.

Werner Neubauer, a company lineman, said they immediately disabled the power so the animal would not get electrocuted. Neubauer then went up in a bucket lift and used an 8-foot (2-meter) fiberglass stick to try to nudge the bear to go down. He even tried talking to it.

“I think I told him I was gonna help him get down the pole,” Neubauer said. “I know he couldn’t understand me. But it did get his attention.”