Bear Rescue on top of Bridge, Donner Summit
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:19 am
The link has pix:
http://www.sierrasun.com/article/200709 ... 21/-1/NEWS
Bear’s life hangs in balance from bridge
A medium-sized bear jumped the railing of Rainbow Bridge, a 100-foot concrete arch near Donner Summit, on Saturday afternoon. The bear apparently jumped to avoid the cars, then found itself trapped in the concrete girders beneath the highest point of the bridge from 3 p.m. Saturday until its eventual rescue at noon Sunday.
About a dozen volunteers safely lowered a tranquilized black bear Sunday morning from picturesque Rainbow Bridge near Donner Summit to the floor of a granite-strewn ravine.
The concerted act of mercy occurred against a backdrop of escalating encounters between humans and bears in the Tahoe-Truckee area this year, many resulting in the death of bears in car crashes or their capture by basin residents tired of bruin break-ins.
On Sunday, though, humans turned out to save the life of a 250-pound bear that literally clung for its life through the night.
According to the Truckee BEAR League’s Dave Baker, a medium-sized bear jumped the railing of Rainbow Bridge, a 100-foot concrete arch near Donner Summit, on Saturday afternoon.
“The bear was crossing the bridge as cars were coming from the east and west,â€
