A BEAR WAS caught on camera hitching a ride on top of a rubbish truck in New Mexico.
The giant animal travelled at least five miles on the vehicle before it was able to make its escape up a tree.
The Santa Fe National Forest, whose helicopter team Santa Fe Helitack were near the area near where the incident occurred, uploaded pictures of the bear to their Facebook page.
Santa Fe National Forest spokeswoman Julie Anne Overton says the driver was picking up a dumpster last week when he heard a squeal then realised the bear was on top of the truck. It rode atop the vehicle to a site where the Forest Service keeps a firefighting helicopter.
Helicopter mechanic Evan Welsch, who snapped photos of the bear, said about 30 Forest Service and National Park workers had gathered around to see the spectacle when it was suggested that the driver back up near a tree to give the animal an escape route.
The bear clambered for the tree and stayed up there about an hour or two before scurrying down and running off.
Additional reporting by Gráinne Ní Aodha
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say