As the monstrous creature was pacing up and down the road, it tore its razor-sharp claws on the tarmac. Animals such as these can hide within the darkness of the night, but there was no trying to hide during the day. He knew he needed to make some quick decisions.
As Thomas Owen gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turned white. With each passing second, the traffic grew worse and the blaring of horns could be heard all around. As people began to lose their patience, the angry beast grew more restless. He moved his vehicle forward and opened the door. That was when he realized that there were dark shadows hiding in the bushes.
Like most young boys, Thomas Owens was obsessed with fast cars and police chases when he was younger. As soon as he got home from school he would run to the television, hoping to see a high-speed car chase on the news. Unfortunately, there would be chases that ended in disaster, but he always loved seeing justice prevail.
More often than not, police are able to apprehend the criminals, allowing safety and peace to return to the roads. Regardless, Thomas’ mother grew weary about his obsession for the chase. And of course, her intuition as a mother was spot on.
On the day of Thomas’ 16th birthday, his father had to pretty much pull the car keys from his mother’s hands. For obvious reasons, she was scared of her son driving. Not only could he put his own life in danger, but he could be a risk to others, as well.
“It’s a small town, Thomas. If we get one sniff of you being reckless, you can say goodbye to the truck,” she sternly told Thomas. Thomas was indeed young, but he wasn’t exactly reckless and he knew how dangerous driving could be. But he never thought something would happen to his mother and father.
Thomas loved his freedom and he enjoyed being able to drive his friends back and forth to school. He happily drove himself to work at the grocery store and he always made sure that he drove carefully. One day, Thomas arrived home only to find that his mom’s car was gone.
With panic in his heart, Thomas called his father. He was told that his mother was the victim of a hit-and-run. Thomas just couldn’t understand how irresponsible some drivers were. With a troubled mind, Thomas didn’t leave his mother’s side for weeks. His mother’s accident left a scar on Thomas and it changed his life forever.
During his senior year of high school, all of Thomas’ friends were eagerly talking about college. They all had different career paths in mind. But none of them were surprised when Thomas told them what his future plans were.
Something in Thomas changed. After the accident, Thomas became truly aware of the dangers associated with reckless driving and he lost interest in car chases. Thomas decided that he was meant to be a state trooper, but he never expected certain things to happen on the job.
On this day, Thomas never could have expected his day to play out as it had. Up ahead, Thomas noticed that there was a bunch of commotion going on and a line of cars that stretched out for miles. He drove past the traffic, but Thomas couldn’t tell what was waiting for him down the road. Even so, Thomas just knew that it was something serious.
Thomas just figured that someone was having trouble with their vehicle, but as he crept closer, he found out what was causing all of the commotion. And it was something that he could never forget.
On the road ahead was a large black animal. Thomas then witnessed unknowing people getting out of their cars to see what was going on. That was when he began to yell.
This area of the Bretton Woods has an abundance of wildlife. Just counting birds, there are 200 different species flying through the woods. Thankfully, the 700-acre plot of land is protected. But Thomas was completely unaware that he was about to be face-to-face with Bretton Woods most dangerous animal.
It was common to have interactions with black bears, but every situation was different. Unfortunately, Thomas wasn’t trained on what to do if he were to ever encounter an angry black bear blocking traffic.
This particular black bear was a bit more dangerous than others, but Thomas didn’t realize that yet. The large black bear stood immovable in the middle of the road. But why wasn’t it moving? Why wasn’t the sound of the horns scaring it away?
Chaos was in full swing as the angry bear paced back and forth in the middle of the road. Thomas began yelling for the drivers to safely return back to their vehicles. Bears are obviously dangerous, but they’re typically a bit shy. So what was going on with this bear?
Disorder ensued as the drivers made their way back to the safety of their vehicles. Finally, they realized what was causing the traffic jam. Luckily, their vehicles were protecting them, but Thomas wasn’t so fortunate.
The drivers, who were clearly terrified, became quiet as they waited to see what was going to happen. Thomas began telling them to turn back because it was obvious that this bear wasn’t moving, no matter what.
Wheels began screeching as cars pulled off of the road. That was when Thomas realized why the bear was refusing to move: her cubs with her. In hopes of scaring her away, Thomas took all of the courage he had and began to walk in the direction of the mama bear.
Thomas then discovered that one of the cubs was having a difficult time walking. He moved a bit closer and began counting. Even though one of them wasn’t moving, there were four cubs. The tiniest one was sitting down, defeated. There was something obviously wrong.
The cubs weren’t very old, but they were able to walk by themselves. Sadly, the smallest one just wouldn’t move from the road. The mama bear was getting more agitated with every passing moment, but that was when something unexpected happened.
The mama bear then walked up to the tiny cub and started to nudge it were her nose. She began to walk back and forth, hoping her cub would begin to follow her, but unfortunately, the cub wouldn’t budge. Thomas couldn’t believe what was happening. He had never witnessed a mama bear with three cubs, never mind four! But then Thomas’s heart began to ache.
As Thomas watched the mother bear fail to get her cub to move, he realized the situation was grim. The mother bear, seemingly discouraged, returned to the trees with her other cubs, leaving the little one alone.
Once the mother bear was gone, Thomas ran to check out the sick cub. He quickly noticed that the cub was struggling to keep its eyes open. When it tried to stand up, the cub instantly collapsed. There was something horribly wrong with this tiny creature. Quickly, Thomas grabbed the cub and ran to his vehicle. Time was running out.
Thomas sped as fast as possible to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Center for help. But he couldn’t help but ask himself why the mother bear just left her cub in the road.
Black bears typically give birth to two cubs. It was rare to have three, but four cubs are extremely unique. Some of them are stronger than others. The nurses and vets worked throughout the night to keep the tiny cub alive.
After Thomas gave it some thought, he finally realized why the mother had left the bear alone. The bear cub may have been well-fed and taken care of, but if it was sick, the chances it would survive in the wild were slim to none. If the mother were to stay with the sick cub, she would have put her other cubs, and herself, in undeniable danger.
Word of Thomas’ brave rescue of the cub quickly spread throughout the town. He then received some unbelievable news. There were eye-witnesses who had seen five cubs with the mother, not four. So where was the fifth bear? Thomas knew what he had to do.
Thomas got some assistance from other trooper and K9 units and they all began to search for the other bear cub. The dogs were able to catch the scent of the cub and it didn’t take long for them to find it… beside the road.
The abandoned cub was freezing cold, wet and hungry. Thankfully, help arrived in the nick of time. But could the center actually help both of the black cubs? After all, they couldn’t give them a bottle forever.
Thanks to Thomas and the expert care of the center, the bear cubs were able to quickly recover. If it wasn’t for the center’s help, the cubs would have surely died. Thomas was more than happy to have been able to help reunite the small cubs.
This story of the rescued bear cubs only proves that providing love and care is the best way to help them recover. The center made the announcement that once the cubs were strong enough they would be released into the wild once again, and there was one person eagerly awaiting to hear about their progress.
Thomas Owens has certainly encountered some strange events as a member of law enforcement, but this situation was by far one of the stranges. He never thought that he would rescue even one bear cub, but he was able to rescue two of them!
Thomas is clearly dedicated to the people of Carroll, New Hampshire, but he’s shown his community that he’s dedicated to all of the furry citizens, as well. Thanks, Thomas Owens, you’ve made everyone proud!