Liz Kellar

Knoxville News Sentinel

Juggles the Bear, the cub rescued last October after having its head stuck inside a plastic container for nearly two months, was released back into the wild Monday.

Juggles put on the weight necessary − nearly 111 pounds − to make it through the winter while at the center.

Early on the morning of Jan. 8, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officials arrived at Appalachian Bear Rescue to release Juggles, along with three other bears back to the wild, the rehabilitation nonprofit center posted on Facebook.

"Our curators worked for weeks planning and preparing for a safe and successful release day," the rescue center wrote. "Juggles Bear did something we have never seen before upon his release. As soon as he took off, he ran to a tree ... and used the facilities. When nature calls!"

How did Juggles get stuck, and how was he rescued?

The young bear cub got a little too interested in a pet food feeder and got its head stuck inside the plastic container, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

A resident near Chilhowee Lake first reported the cub's predicament on Aug. 14, after spotting a sow bear and four cubs on her porch, the release said. TWRA Black Bear Support Biologist Janelle Musser responded and promptly began a trapping effort.

Musser was able to lure the cub into a trap, but it was unable to trigger it with its mouth due to the container on its head, the agency said. She moved the trap each time a new sighting was reported, even trying a different style trap with a foot plate trigger but the mother became trap shy and the efforts were unsuccessful.

On Oct. 3, a resident reported the cub was in a tree and Musser was able to dart the animal and remove the container. 

“Darting bears in trees is not standard practice and is only done in an emergency," Musser said. "This cub would not be able to continue surviving like this.”

Cub recuperated at Appalachian Bear Rescue

The bear cub, which was named Juggles by Appalachian Bear Rescue, spent the last two and half months recuperating from its ordeal at the rehabilitation center in Townsend. The bear rescue group takes in orphaned and injured black bear cubs with the goal to release them back to the wild as soon as possible.

The bear rescue group took Juggles to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine for a medical check, and the staff cleaned and treated his ears and removed a large number of ticks.

At the rescue center, he was first placed in an acclimation pen and then into an enclosure with three other cubs.