Bear Cub Caught Stowing Away On Lake Superior

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A black bear cub reportedly stowed away Friday on the side of a freighter ship on Lake Superior.

Sailor Keith Baker posted on Facebook that the "little visitor" swam over from the shore near Two Harbors and latched onto the draft board of the Cason J. Callaway.

The bear appeared to be shivering from his swim in the cold waters.

"He's got that 'I ain't going back in that cold water' look" Baker joked in the caption to one of his photos.

The sailor said the cub clung to the ship for about an hour before the DNR arrived and helped him get back into the wild.

Conservation officer Daivd Schottenbauer told the Duluth News Tribune that the cub was small and only weighed about 30 pounds. He said his mother was likely around, although she wasn't seen.

"There was nothing that told me the bear wasn't normal other than the fact that it was goofing around down there at the dock — more of a curiosity thing than anything," Schottenbauer told the paper.