The bear, then just a cub, was first spotted on trail cameras in 2023. His head was stuck in a 5-inch diameter hole in a blue plastic lid, the kind that might be found on a 55-gallon drum.

The malnourished 2-month-old male bear cub was found by California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists in Los Padres National Forest with no mother nearby on April 12, KUSI reported.