This Guy Risked Jail Time To Rescue A Dying Baby Bear He Found On A Hike
Photographer Corey Hancock was hiking a trail in Oregon when he spotted something that turned out to be a baby bear on the brink of death. Hancock wrote that the bear was “laying there on his back, seeming by all appearances to be dead. His lips were blue. His eyes were open, but unmoving and hazy. The rain was pouring down, drenching his belly. I might have seen a shallow breath.”
“I thought about my own baby boy back home. The bear looked so much like an infant. Was I just going to stand there and watch it die in the rain? No… I needed to do something.”
So he took the bear with him and started running to his car. “The whole time, I was sure a raging mother bear would come for me.”
Once they got to the car, the baby bear stopped breathing. Hancock performed mouth-to-mouth and the animal started breathing again. The rescuer took him to the vet where he is getting stronger everyday, being treated for severe dehydration and starvation.
However, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Hancock could have been fined $6,000 for helping the bear. Or even worse – sent off to a jail for a year. Luckily, there will be no punishment for this kind-hearted man.
More info: Facebook (h/t: animalrescuesite)
Corey Hancock spotted a dying baby bear while on a hike in Oregon
He risked his life and jail time to save the animal – even performing mouth-to-mouth
The baby bear was taken to a vet clinic where he is getting stronger every day
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He's a good-hearted and brave man. I understand the law but I get why this was an important thing to do. For those who don't understand the law...it's to keep humans from interfering in the natural processes of wildlife. - Strong survive, weak die. It's natural selection. There may have been something very wrong with this baby bear and that is why it was separated or abandoned from it's mother. Very sad but that's how much of the animal kingdom functions. Not elephants, however. They have a higher level of sentience.
Or f*****g humans hunted his mother and he was left to fend for himself...
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So, doing a good deed by saving a dying baby bear is 'interfering with nature'? According to the World Wildlife Fund, over 50% of the planet's wildlife has disappeared within the last 40 years due to hunting, habitat loss, etc. This being the case, it would appear to me that saving this baby, who would otherwise have definitely died, is an act of preservation of our dwindling wildlife. Bravo to him!
"act of preservation of our dwindling wildlife" Only if they later manage to release the bear back to the wild. Also, millions of baby animals would die "in nature" even if humans didn't have a devastating effect on the environment, so saving one could rightfully be described as "interfering with nature." Having said that, I do agree that he did the right thing. We are constantly interfering with nature anyway, we might as well do something nice while we are at it...
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FINALLY! Something other than dying of dysentery happens when on the Oregon Trail!
Thank you for saving the bear - we, as a species, are responsible for killing off so many other species that one act like this is a bright light in a dark night. Well done.
Thank you for saving the bear cub. No animal (or human for that matter) should die a death like this - all alone, starving, etc. Someone probably killed the mom
Well, obviously the law should be revised for exceptional circumstances like such cases.
Obviously, it works fine: the text says he was not punished.
Load More Replies...
He made the right call. The rules exist for very good reason but clearly for whatever reason that mama bear was not coming back
A law saying we should not interfere with the course of the nature? Then why do we bloody do it all over the planet? Effectively breaking the law? I understand this might apply to the national park perhaps but isn't it a good thing if we manage to save an animal to make up for all the senseless killings of wild animals all over the world by humans?
Yes! Agree with you 100% Touche! - Speaking about 'not interfering with nature'. Then how do they explain the yearly barbaric seal hunt, where baby seals are clubbed to death? - and continues year after year! - Or, trophy hunting! I think those are two excellent examples of 'interfering with nature'! :(
Load More Replies...
Thank you for saving the bear. Thank you more for documenting the entire thing for likes...
Why does the law say he could have been fined or sent to jail? I have no opinion (because I don't understand it), I am just curious: is it because there are too many bears in that region that they don't want people to help them?
Those laws are so STUPID! I'm so glad he didn't get fined because of his kindness
I think he did right & he's more of a man for saving the bear and ignoring the bloody rules !!
Wonderful example of humanity. Wish all the people will be the same.
So, per Trump's new laws, its OK to shoot hibernating bears and wolves, but its a crime to help one that is dying. What a ridiculous world we live in today....
This has been a thing way before trump. please research things before commenting such nonsense.
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The photo of that poor baby bear just laying there brings me to tears. I'm so happy that he is on the mend thanks to a kind act
I'm not from the US so can someone who is please tell me why he'd go to jail for this ?
We humans have interfered with nature so much, I am surprised we have any wild life at all. I don't care what the law says, if he would have gotten fined, I would have sent money to help him Pay it! We need to quit thinking we are harming them by helping them in a situation like this. I would have been heartbroken to come across this defenseless animal that obviously needed a human intervention.
I believe saving wildlife nowadays is important especially when you have SO MANY POACHERS who don't care about the wildlife or the Law who are out there killing off Species to fill their pockets. It is Very Sad, but seeing stories like this help me to think there is Hope out there. Thank You Young man for Saving that Beautiful Baby Bear.
Many people have already broken the law by hunting but they were not punished so why should this man be .
It should never be illegal to help a sick creature... if we dont act when our heart Tel us to, we are NOT human...
china could learn a lesson in humanity from this guy, as can the rest if us. respect to you man!
China could learn a lesson in humanity from this guy, well done that man
The runt of the litter hardly ever makes it. If it can't keep up with the mother and the stronger cubs it will at some point get left behind. Wildlife officers here in NH are always on the look out for abandoned cubs and save every one they can.
Would have done the same 😘Wonderful guy!! Do we have any updates?!
Heaven forbid Now that American Hunters Can Slaughter a whole Family whilst they hibernate. I get so sick of this whole Hunting / murdering ethos
In my country (France) the government spend a lot of money trying to save the last Pyrenean bears !!! this guy have done the right thing because maybe one day ODFW will have spend a mount of dollars to do the same ,so better to rethink the future of wild life before too late please !!
Thank you for being a decent, caring human being. Peace be with you forever.
I would've done the same thing!! Good for you man. Way to save that baby bear!!! ❤️❤️❤️
We need more ppl out there like him that wants to help helpless animals. I would do the same in a heartbeat and take the jail time. Stupid a*s laws anyways.
I understand that nature has an order, but why punish this man? We have very light fines and if any jail times for people who abuse or worse yet put bears, tigers, and other wide life into a lifetimes of neglect and captivity. How about doing this to people who abuse or worse yet do things like dragging a dog behind a car? Too convoluted for words.
God has blessed this man and the little bear. We could use about 30 million more people like him in our country. I love him already!
A life is a life. I am sure the law is in place to try and stop as much interference with bears as possible, not helping, like this. But I am sure they cannot write in every single amendment for every single situation
would he still be fined if he saved a human?! what is the difference? thank you, angel
weather it is animal or human everyone deserves a chance, he is ahero and I personally thank him for what he did, we dont have bears in New Zealand but if we did and I saw that I would do what he did
How waa he risking jail time??? Is it illegal to take the cub out of its natural habitat?
So how was ue risking jail time? Is it illegal to take a cub out of it ls natural habitat??
Thanks for for stepping up to help the helpless. I would not have thought twice. I hope all is well with your little buddy.
I would have done the same thing!!! Thanks for helping the helpless!!
heart touching but....... irony is that , they r saving baby animals and killing baby humans ......
Some times the law just needs to be broken to rescue an animal. We all need to have compassion and not worry about the law. Thanks to this wonderful man this bear will now survive and will now go to a sanctuary and have a long life. may God bless this man for saving one of His creatures. What a wonderful man!!!
Just to clarify, the jail time is because people often touch/capture animals that they shouldn't and end of making things worse even if their intentions are good. For example, in my area people see a seal on the beach and try to touch it or rescue it when it was just sunning itself. The law is to make it possible to prosecute people who harm these animals.
Great guy!! Thank you for doing the right thing!! And F**k any "LAW" which could fine and imprison a man for saving a bear when it is OK to kill them! What a f****d up world we live in run mostly by crazy greedy mean white men!
Thank you very, very much for saving this baby!!! If you hadn't come along, it definitely wouldn't have made it. Why do idiots shoot bears??? I'm from the Great Smoky Mountains & I remember when I was ten, me, my mom and sister went to find wildflowers in the mountains. We were getting in our car when Mom and I realized my sister wasn't there. We panicked looking for her and a baby bear just a tiny bit larger than this one was in the parks parking lot & she went to see it. When we found her with the cub, we heard all of this dreadful noise & look up and it's momma was coming down the hill to rescue her baby!!! She truly almost got my sister!!! This made me think about that. Thanks again & God Bless & keep you!!!
I personally think Corey should be awarded...Coming upon that poor Baby Bear, risking having a Cranky Mumma Bear after him, and taking him to a nearby Vetainary Clinic...That's is Beyond Amazing!!! Then to have to deal with having possible fines, and/or jail time...Come off it!!! Give him A GODDAMN Award!!! I totally understand the "Circle of Life", but WHO could just walk on by...Corey,,,You are an Absolute Legend in My eyes ❤ Thank You from Myself, and EVERY other Animal Lovers out there for doing what You did 😚 You are a True Hero in My Eyes and Heart xXx
Haha my thought exactly. But I'm just as guilty b/c i was glad there was a pic for me to see...
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this bear have slim chances to be able to go back into the wild.. i'm not sure "how much" he saved helped the wild life by saving him..
So it's it better to let it die a painful death, or let it live in a wildlife preserve, interacting with people and other rescued animals?
Load More Replies...
Why shame? Do you know the reasons? Quite possibly, momma bear was disturbed by humans or even shot by hunters.
Load More Replies... 
Don't understand Hans' down votes. Between him and Caitlyn is a balanced argument for being cautious re: wild animal rescues
Load More Replies... He's a good-hearted and brave man. I understand the law but I get why this was an important thing to do. For those who don't understand the law...it's to keep humans from interfering in the natural processes of wildlife. - Strong survive, weak die. It's natural selection. There may have been something very wrong with this baby bear and that is why it was separated or abandoned from it's mother. Very sad but that's how much of the animal kingdom functions. Not elephants, however. They have a higher level of sentience.
Or f*****g humans hunted his mother and he was left to fend for himself...
Load More Replies... So, doing a good deed by saving a dying baby bear is 'interfering with nature'? According to the World Wildlife Fund, over 50% of the planet's wildlife has disappeared within the last 40 years due to hunting, habitat loss, etc. This being the case, it would appear to me that saving this baby, who would otherwise have definitely died, is an act of preservation of our dwindling wildlife. Bravo to him!
"act of preservation of our dwindling wildlife" Only if they later manage to release the bear back to the wild. Also, millions of baby animals would die "in nature" even if humans didn't have a devastating effect on the environment, so saving one could rightfully be described as "interfering with nature." Having said that, I do agree that he did the right thing. We are constantly interfering with nature anyway, we might as well do something nice while we are at it...
Load More Replies... FINALLY! Something other than dying of dysentery happens when on the Oregon Trail!
Thank you for saving the bear - we, as a species, are responsible for killing off so many other species that one act like this is a bright light in a dark night. Well done.
Thank you for saving the bear cub. No animal (or human for that matter) should die a death like this - all alone, starving, etc. Someone probably killed the mom
Well, obviously the law should be revised for exceptional circumstances like such cases.
Obviously, it works fine: the text says he was not punished.
Load More Replies... He made the right call. The rules exist for very good reason but clearly for whatever reason that mama bear was not coming back
A law saying we should not interfere with the course of the nature? Then why do we bloody do it all over the planet? Effectively breaking the law? I understand this might apply to the national park perhaps but isn't it a good thing if we manage to save an animal to make up for all the senseless killings of wild animals all over the world by humans?
Yes! Agree with you 100% Touche! - Speaking about 'not interfering with nature'. Then how do they explain the yearly barbaric seal hunt, where baby seals are clubbed to death? - and continues year after year! - Or, trophy hunting! I think those are two excellent examples of 'interfering with nature'! :(
Load More Replies... Thank you for saving the bear. Thank you more for documenting the entire thing for likes...
Why does the law say he could have been fined or sent to jail? I have no opinion (because I don't understand it), I am just curious: is it because there are too many bears in that region that they don't want people to help them?
Those laws are so STUPID! I'm so glad he didn't get fined because of his kindness
I think he did right & he's more of a man for saving the bear and ignoring the bloody rules !!
Wonderful example of humanity. Wish all the people will be the same.
So, per Trump's new laws, its OK to shoot hibernating bears and wolves, but its a crime to help one that is dying. What a ridiculous world we live in today....
This has been a thing way before trump. please research things before commenting such nonsense.
Load More Replies... The photo of that poor baby bear just laying there brings me to tears. I'm so happy that he is on the mend thanks to a kind act
I'm not from the US so can someone who is please tell me why he'd go to jail for this ?
We humans have interfered with nature so much, I am surprised we have any wild life at all. I don't care what the law says, if he would have gotten fined, I would have sent money to help him Pay it! We need to quit thinking we are harming them by helping them in a situation like this. I would have been heartbroken to come across this defenseless animal that obviously needed a human intervention.
I believe saving wildlife nowadays is important especially when you have SO MANY POACHERS who don't care about the wildlife or the Law who are out there killing off Species to fill their pockets. It is Very Sad, but seeing stories like this help me to think there is Hope out there. Thank You Young man for Saving that Beautiful Baby Bear.
Many people have already broken the law by hunting but they were not punished so why should this man be .
It should never be illegal to help a sick creature... if we dont act when our heart Tel us to, we are NOT human...
china could learn a lesson in humanity from this guy, as can the rest if us. respect to you man!
China could learn a lesson in humanity from this guy, well done that man
The runt of the litter hardly ever makes it. If it can't keep up with the mother and the stronger cubs it will at some point get left behind. Wildlife officers here in NH are always on the look out for abandoned cubs and save every one they can.
Would have done the same 😘Wonderful guy!! Do we have any updates?!
Heaven forbid Now that American Hunters Can Slaughter a whole Family whilst they hibernate. I get so sick of this whole Hunting / murdering ethos
In my country (France) the government spend a lot of money trying to save the last Pyrenean bears !!! this guy have done the right thing because maybe one day ODFW will have spend a mount of dollars to do the same ,so better to rethink the future of wild life before too late please !!
Thank you for being a decent, caring human being. Peace be with you forever.
I would've done the same thing!! Good for you man. Way to save that baby bear!!! ❤️❤️❤️
We need more ppl out there like him that wants to help helpless animals. I would do the same in a heartbeat and take the jail time. Stupid a*s laws anyways.
I understand that nature has an order, but why punish this man? We have very light fines and if any jail times for people who abuse or worse yet put bears, tigers, and other wide life into a lifetimes of neglect and captivity. How about doing this to people who abuse or worse yet do things like dragging a dog behind a car? Too convoluted for words.
God has blessed this man and the little bear. We could use about 30 million more people like him in our country. I love him already!
A life is a life. I am sure the law is in place to try and stop as much interference with bears as possible, not helping, like this. But I am sure they cannot write in every single amendment for every single situation
would he still be fined if he saved a human?! what is the difference? thank you, angel
weather it is animal or human everyone deserves a chance, he is ahero and I personally thank him for what he did, we dont have bears in New Zealand but if we did and I saw that I would do what he did
How waa he risking jail time??? Is it illegal to take the cub out of its natural habitat?
So how was ue risking jail time? Is it illegal to take a cub out of it ls natural habitat??
Thanks for for stepping up to help the helpless. I would not have thought twice. I hope all is well with your little buddy.
I would have done the same thing!!! Thanks for helping the helpless!!
heart touching but....... irony is that , they r saving baby animals and killing baby humans ......
Some times the law just needs to be broken to rescue an animal. We all need to have compassion and not worry about the law. Thanks to this wonderful man this bear will now survive and will now go to a sanctuary and have a long life. may God bless this man for saving one of His creatures. What a wonderful man!!!
Just to clarify, the jail time is because people often touch/capture animals that they shouldn't and end of making things worse even if their intentions are good. For example, in my area people see a seal on the beach and try to touch it or rescue it when it was just sunning itself. The law is to make it possible to prosecute people who harm these animals.
Great guy!! Thank you for doing the right thing!! And F**k any "LAW" which could fine and imprison a man for saving a bear when it is OK to kill them! What a f****d up world we live in run mostly by crazy greedy mean white men!
Thank you very, very much for saving this baby!!! If you hadn't come along, it definitely wouldn't have made it. Why do idiots shoot bears??? I'm from the Great Smoky Mountains & I remember when I was ten, me, my mom and sister went to find wildflowers in the mountains. We were getting in our car when Mom and I realized my sister wasn't there. We panicked looking for her and a baby bear just a tiny bit larger than this one was in the parks parking lot & she went to see it. When we found her with the cub, we heard all of this dreadful noise & look up and it's momma was coming down the hill to rescue her baby!!! She truly almost got my sister!!! This made me think about that. Thanks again & God Bless & keep you!!!
I personally think Corey should be awarded...Coming upon that poor Baby Bear, risking having a Cranky Mumma Bear after him, and taking him to a nearby Vetainary Clinic...That's is Beyond Amazing!!! Then to have to deal with having possible fines, and/or jail time...Come off it!!! Give him A GODDAMN Award!!! I totally understand the "Circle of Life", but WHO could just walk on by...Corey,,,You are an Absolute Legend in My eyes ❤ Thank You from Myself, and EVERY other Animal Lovers out there for doing what You did 😚 You are a True Hero in My Eyes and Heart xXx
Haha my thought exactly. But I'm just as guilty b/c i was glad there was a pic for me to see...
Load More Replies... this bear have slim chances to be able to go back into the wild.. i'm not sure "how much" he saved helped the wild life by saving him..
So it's it better to let it die a painful death, or let it live in a wildlife preserve, interacting with people and other rescued animals?
Load More Replies... Why shame? Do you know the reasons? Quite possibly, momma bear was disturbed by humans or even shot by hunters.
Load More Replies... Don't understand Hans' down votes. Between him and Caitlyn is a balanced argument for being cautious re: wild animal rescues
Load More Replies...
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