An Ingenious Idea
At first, sight, using the fishing net seemed like an ingenious idea, but this was not a foolproof method. It’s important to remember that this net is intended to catch fish, and does not necessarily withstand the weight of a bear cub, still, the fishermen decided they needed to give it their best try, in order to help rescue the pair of cubs.
They threw the net towards the cubs and tried to pull them in towards the boat. Time was against them and conditions were poor for the cubs.
Living on a Prayer
At that very moment, something amazing occurred. The cub, who had sunk his teeth into the side of the boat came into eye contact with one of the fishermen.
It was almost as if they were communicating with each other in a way which showed them they could trust one another. The look in the eye of the cub was heartbreaking for the fisherman, and it was almost as if he could hear the cub pleading to be rescued.
A New Strategy
Knowing that they couldn’t leave the cubs, the fishermen agreed that they would do everything they could to rescue them from the freezing lake.
They could have sailed away, effectively giving the cubs a death sentence, but this would have stayed with them forever. Instead, they enlisted their fisherman’s net and tried to lift the cubs aboard using that as a tool.
A Real Fear
The fishermen then tried to raise the first cub into the boat, but this was not without its difficulties. The cub weighed a lot more than a net full of fish, which is what these men were used to catching in the lake.
It was also the first time the cubs would have been in a net, and no one knew how they would react. There was a real fear that the bears would think they were being captured and try and resist being hoisted into the boat.
Keeping Calm
Even though the cubs had been abandoned by the mother bear and were in real danger, there was no predicting how they would react when they were being reeled into the boat by the fisherman.
Bear cubs are potentially vicious and dangerous, so it was important the fisherman kept calm and kept the cubs at ease as they pulled them towards the vessel. The trust at this point was vital so that the bears would feel safe with the fishermen.