New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Officers (ECOs) recently rescued two young black bears from leg-hold traps in the Catskills and and a whitetail buck from an abandon well in Niagara County.
On November 6, ECOs assisted the Lewiston Police Department following a report of an antlered whitetail deer that fell into an abandoned 10-foot-deep dry well and became trapped off Upper Mountain Road in the town of Lewiston in Niagara County, NY.
ECO Scheer, along with a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, and the Niagara County Tech Rescue Team were able to hoist the deer from the well and release it safely without incident. The well was then covered as a preventative measure.
On November 18, a trapper notified ECOs about two yearling black bears stuck in foothold traps within a few feet of each other in the town of Rockland, Sullivan County, NY.
ECO Johnson and Lieutenant Lattimer responded to the location and met with the licensed trapper who was legally trapping bobcats when he accidentally trapped the bears. Each bear had a front paw trapped in the footholds and was unable to escape.
ECO Johnson pinned one bear down using a catchpole while Lieutenant Lattimer used a piece of plywood as a shield, allowing the trapper to safely access the bear’s front paw and free it.
They successfully repeated the process with the second bear and both animals ran off into the woods.
New York State trapping regulations require trappers to check their traps at least once every 24 hours, reducing the amount of time an animal remains in a trap.
Read more stories of recent wildlife rescues.
Illustration: The whitetail deer trapped in well in Niagara County.
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