Liberty bear's fatal injuries suggest it was hit by car

ODNR official says bear had been dead for a few days

liberty

The black bear found dead Monday on a Tanglewood Drive front lawn was likely hit by a car, said Laura Graber, a wildlife research technician with the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

The 170-pound male bear — thought to be no more than a year or two old — had bruising down its rib cage and blood in its chest cavity. The bear had also probably been dead for a couple of days before being found underneath a tree on a residential property, Graber said.

“It was not in too good condition,” she said. “It was probably trying to find a female, and was on the move. ... It was an otherwise healthy bear that probably got hit by a vehicle on Interstate 80 or a neighboring road.”