2 Bear Cubs Rescued From Dumpster In Northern Minnesota: Watch

LUTSEN, MN — What would you do if you encountered a bear during a routine trip to take out the trash? That question stared resort housekeeper Bara Raa Gregoire in the face early Wednesday. Like many of us, she made a break for it.

"I just went to dumpster and both bars were on it and when I opened it the bear was sitting in the dumpster!!" Gregoire frantically texted a co-worker at 7:31 a.m. "I wonder how that is even possible with it being barred shut?!? I ran off with my trash but didn’t put the bars back on or look to see if the bear jumped out."

By the time additional staff from Cascade Vacation Rentals showed up, the bear Gregoire saw had escaped the dumpster and climbed into a nearby tree only two blocks from the resort’s main office building, according to the Pioneer Press.

Owner Steve Surbaugh thought it was strange the bear decided to stick around, so he continued to investigate. Inside of the dumpster, Surbaugh found two baby bears much too small to escape on their own.

Quick-thinking employees Andrew Beavers and Mike Groth jerry-rigged a ladder out of a broken futon frame and arranged it in the dumpster to encourage the cubs to come out.

"The plan worked!" Cascade Vacation Rentals posted on Facebook. "Within minutes the two babies were reunited with their mother in the tree."

Staff members from the resort – located on Minnesota's north short – are still investigating how the bears ended up in the dumpsters with the bear bars in place, but at least for now, the dumpster is "bear-free."

Employees Sarah Somnis and Sarena Nelson recorded the escape on video:

Photo credit: AP Photo/David J. Sheakley