KINGS BEACH, California (AP) - Deputies helped a wailing bear cub reunite with its family after it got stuck inside a trash container outside a motel near Lake Tahoe.

The cub can be heard crying from inside the metal dumpster in a video recorded by Placer County Sheriff's deputies on Tuesday (Aug 27).

While their mother keeps watch, the bear's sibling climbs on her back to the top of the container but fails to open the heavy lid.

Then the deputies come to the rescue.

With the bear family a few paces away and watching from behind a tree, a deputy opens the container lid with a pole, while a second deputy quickly places a ladder inside the container.

The deputies back away, allowing the cub to climb the ladder and scurry off to rejoin its family.