Cooperative Living June 2020 - 9

GoodDeeds | by Steven Johnson, Staff Writer
Operation Easter
Cub Rescue
BARC Electric team helps to
save orphaned bear cubs
I
t was not an ordinary Easter for
a crew from BARC Electric
Cooperative.
Skyler Merchant, an apprentice
lineworker at BARC Electric, teamed
with staking assistant Travis Rhodenizer
to help rescue three small bear cubs
after a vehicle struck and killed
their mother on Interstate 64 near
Lexington, Va.
" For it being on Easter and
everything else we're dealing with
now in this crazy time, it was very,
very cool to get the call, " Merchant
tells the electric.coop news site.
The humane deed produced an
outpouring of congratulations for
the volunteer rescuers and well wishes
for the 3-month-old cubs, who are
recovering at the Wildlife Center of
Virginia in Waynesboro.
According to police reports, a
truck hit and killed a black bear sow,
estimated to be 6 or 7 years old, at
about 9 p.m. on April 11. The trucker
called the Virginia State Police and
watched as three cubs following their
mother raced away and climbed about
50 feet up a tree on a nearby property.
State Troopers Nathan Combs
and J.A. Paxton responded to the scene
as other area residents helped them
keep a vigil on the cubs, who were
treebound for about 12 hours.
Merchant and Rhodenizer brought
help in the form of a bucket truck.
" They were contacted by the
property owner, who knew they worked
for BARC, and asked if they could
possibly bring a bucket truck to help
rescue the cubs, " says Tish Blackwell,
communications specialist at BARC.
" Skyler contacted Jamie Lowry, our
COO, for permission and he agreed
to lend the help without hesitation.
The two went to the site with the truck
and successfully helped get the cubs
co-opliving.com
June 2020 | Cooperative Living | 7
out of the tree to safety, " she says.
While the mission didn't involve
their normal course of line duty,
Merchant and Rhodenizer encountered
their share of challenges. Mud and
soft ground ensnared the truck as
they moved it down an embankment
toward the tree. Jimmy Southers
Auto Towing and Repairs was able
to extricate them to the edge of
the interstate.
That enabled Merchant to elevate
the bucket arm, reach out and pluck
the cubs from their perch.
" I figured grabbing the back of the
neck like its mom would do might
give me an advantage, " he says.
Adds Rhodenizer, " They were a
little frightened, a little shaky, but we
were actually able to pretty easily
remove them from the tree. "
They handed the cub-filled basket
to state wildlife biologist Jaime Sajecki,
who took the young ones to the
Waynesboro center, which treats
injured birds, mammals, reptiles and
amphibians.
In addition to the local news,
BARC and the other volunteers got
a lot of national attention, with
Operation Easter Rescue picked up
by People magazine online and
newspapers as far away as Sacramento,
Calif. BARC's Facebook post about
the deeds of Merchant and Rhodenizer
got more than 100 likes.
The three female cubs, all between
5 1/2 and 6 1/2 pounds, were in good
health when they arrived at the center,
which hopes to return them to the
wild in spring 2021. They'll be in a
group with five other cubs. ■
In the meantime, you can check on
their progress on Critter Cam 3 under
Critter Corner at wildlifecenter.org.
http://www.electric.coop http://www.wildlifecenter.org http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living June 2020

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