A mother bear and her cubs were rescued from a water tank near Claremont Wilderness Park's 5-Mile Loop Trail in La Verne Saturday.
A group of runners found the adult black bear and two of her cubs stuck in the tank, which is used by the La Verne Fire Department, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told KTLA.
"The bears were discovered by people walking near the well who heard what they described as howling and investigated," CDFW said. "They then reported the incident to authorities."
Jamie Kirk, one of the runners who found the bears, told KTLA that the group climbed on top of the water tank to see what was happening, and saw the bears staring back at them though a hole in the top of the tank.
"As soon as you look in, there's a bear 3 feet away," Kirk said.
Images from the rescue show the bears trying to keep their heads above water in the partially filled tank. CDFW officials drained the tank to prevent the bears from drowning.
One of the cubs was able to escape the tank on its own before rescuers arrived and was found safe in a nearby tree. Firefighters widened a hole in the tank and dropped a ladder in to help the mother bear and remaining cub escape.
CDFW officials kept an eye on the tank as the mother bear and cub eventually crawled up the ladder and ran off into the wild.
"All three bears are now out of the tank and safe," CDFW said.
"The water tank was drained during the rescue operation by the La Verne Fire Department and is now being secured to prevent bears or other wildlife from becoming trapped there in the future," CDFW said.
Watch video of the rescue in the player at the top of this story.
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