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dead bear

By Amy Fendley A bear that was found last week at the municipal landfill site is a suspected victim of hit and run.

By Amy Fendley A bear that was found last week at the municipal landfill site is a suspected victim of hit and run. Attendants at the landfill thought the 300 pound, 10-12 year old male black bear had been poached for its gall bladder, but it is now believed the bear was hit by a vehicle. Dave Elliot, district conservation officer said that it appeared no gall bladder had been taken. "Nothing like that happened," said Elliot. "It might have been road kill. They drove it to the yellow gate and dragged it in on a blue tarp. Someone who shot a bear wouldn’t act like that. It seems like it was someone who accidentally killed it with a vehicle, loaded it, dumped it and wanted it to be buried. It’s unusual, but not suspicious." Bears have been hit by vehicles on the highway and in the landfill this year. The latest incident occurred late in the evening of Oct. 20. A posthumous examination conducted by black bear researcher Michael Allen on Oct. 22 found the bear’s teeth in good shape, indicating the bear was probably not a garbage habituated bear, and therefore not a resident of the landfill. "I looked it over pretty good, and the conservation officer and I agreed that it was probably hit by a car," said Allen. "I went there in the morning and a big male was standing over it (the carcass). It had been fed on by other bears and its mid-section and rear were gone, but there were no incisions anywhere and no signs that it had been shot. A lot of times bears are hit, causing internal bleeding, then they die of shock. "Usually animals feed on the mid-section first and it was attracting a lot of bears, so it was buried right away." If anyone has any information on the circumstances surrounding the death of the bear, you can call Conservation Officer Service at 1-800-665-1388.