Mother Bear and 3 Cubs Rescued from Water Tank in California

A mother bear and her three cubs were rescued from a large water tank in Southern California on Saturday after becoming trapped for hours in a concrete cistern during a heat wave. The incident occurred at Marshall Canyon County Park in La Verne, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. The bears were discovered around 8 a.m. Saturday by three Glendora residents who were running on a trail in the park. They heard whimpering sounds and traced them to the cistern, which had a small vent hole on top. "We climbed up top, and there's a small hole and right away we see a bear staring at us, kind of holding on to the walls because it was full of water," said Jamie Kirk, one of the hikers. The mother bear was standing and leaning against the wall to keep her head above the water level. One of the three cubs had managed to escape the tank on its own before rescuers arrived and was found in a nearby tree. The remaining three bears, however, were trapped inside the dark concrete structure. Authorities believe the bears may have entered the tank seeking water amid hot and humid conditions, with the high temperature in La Verne reaching 97 or 98 degrees on Saturday.