Dawes Rigging & Crane Gives Polar Bear a Lift
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| Enlarge Image Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental stepped in to lift a polar bear from a moat. |
December 2, 2008 – It turns out that Zero the polar bear is not smarter than the average bear. After he fell from his habitat at the Milwaukee County Zoo and ended up in a moat on Oct. 13, it took a crane from Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental Inc. to lift the 1,500-pound male polar bear out of his predicament. He could have climbed out of the moat on his own by using the steps back up to the exhibit, but instead he decided to remain in the moat until zoo officials finally had to call in the heavy equipment.
Zero had been chasing a toy when he fell, but was caught by a net suspended over the 17-foot-deep moat. He was not injured, so a zoo crew cut the net so he could be lowered to the moat floor and waited for him to climb out. Two weeks later, one of Dawes’ Link-Belt 50-ton cranes lowered a “bear transport cage†filled with Zero’s favorite food, hoping to lure him into it so the crane could lift him back to his habitat. He showed some interest, but wouldn’t enter the cage. Dawes remained on standby to come and hoist the cage out of the moat once Zero was secured inside, which never happened.
Three days later, on Oct. 31, the crane from Dawes returned. Zoo veterinarians shot Zero with darts containing a combination of anesthesia and muscle relaxants. The head veterinarian took a closer look from the crane’s man-basket to ensure that Zero was really out cold. Then a crew of 10 zoo personnel pushed the sleeping bear onto a rigging net system that would move him into the crate. Then the crate was wrapped in a cargo net and lifted by the crane from the moat to a holding area, where Zero rested until he was able to return to his habitat.
Enlarge Image
Zero the polar bear fell into the moat after chasing a toy. He was unharmed, but refused to return to his habitat.
The total weight of the lift was approximately 2,000 pounds, including the transport cage, rigging and the polar bear. Three Dawes representatives were on hand for the execution of the lift, including Joe Ruddell, sales representative for Dawes, the crane operator and delivery personnel.
Because of the danger of working with wild animals, special precautions had to be taken to maintain the safety of everyone involved. “We were asked to do the lifts as early as possible in the day to help eliminate any exposure from the media and zoo goers,†Ruddell said. “Helicopters flying overhead would not have helped the situation at all. We wanted to be as discreet as possible in what we were attempting to do to help keep Zero calm so he could react in a natural state and feel as comfortable as possible.â€
Ruddell said this wasn’t the first time the company has helped out the zoo. The company was previously involved in helping Lucy the elephant get back up on her feet after she had gotten down on her side.
“As a company Dawes has been involved in some very unique and interesting lifts, but when it comes to lifting animals it takes on a different roll probably because of the life and the human nature factor that is involved,†Ruddell said.
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