The sun is shining once again on a bear who, after wandering near Thunder Bay, Ont., with a plastic jar stuck on its head for two weeks, apparently freed itself.

While the black bear is nowhere to be found, wildlife officials said the clear plastic jar that was stuck on its head turned up near Lake Superior.

A canoeist discovered the jar a kilometre from the bear's last known location. The jar was empty save for a clump of black fur, officials said, and it featured scratches that could have been made by claws.

"I'm hoping that he pulled it off," said Ross Johnston, a conservation officer with the province's Ministry of Natural Resources. "The worst would be that he tried to swim and the jug would fill up with water, and he'd drown."

"I don't expect we'll hear from mister bear again," he added.

The animal appeared emaciated in photos taken earlier in the week, since the jar had kept it from eating or drinking water. But officials say the bear will likely recover from its ordeal.

Lynn Rogers, a biologist with the North American Bear Center, said there should still be time for the animal to bulk up before it hibernates for the winter months.

"With the majority of the berry crops still ahead of us, the bear will do just fine," he said.

"It must've just got the right angle with its two paws and pulled it off," he added. "Maybe he just happened to stretch it so it got over his ears the right way."

The bear wouldn't have become trapped if the plastic jar had been deposited at a recycling facility instead of at a garbage dump, according to waste-management officials.

The animal had become stuck by July 11, according to a worker at the dump where the bear is believed to have come across the jar.

Ray Blais said conservation officials came to the site, tried to shoot the bear with a tranquilizer, and missed.

"But why did they leave the bear in that position? Why didn't they stay around to try to collar it?" Blais asked.

Conservation workers had been trying to locate the unlucky animal based on sightings by the public. At one point the bear disappeared into thick forest, leaving conservation workers in the dust.

"It's completely forested, so you're trying to find a bear that doesn't want to be seen and will run away from you in dense bush," Johnston said.

With files from The Canadian Press