Black Bear Elkhart County ?

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  • ghuns

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    Poor little fella...

    Black bear found dead near Bristol

    Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources Mammologist Brad Westrich said by telephone on Wednesday evening that the bear was found near the Indiana Toll Road exit north of Bristol at approximately 11 a.m. Wednesday.

    “We were able to collect the carcass, from which we could determine it was in an extreme state of decomposition,” Westrich said

    How do you hit a bear and not report it? :dunno:
     

    ghuns

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    Yeah, probably. :rolleyes:

    Had neighbor whose two horses got loose. Somebody hit and killed BOTH of them and never reported it. As someone who has hit a horse, let me tell you, you KNOW you hit something LARGE. And the damage to your vehicle will be significant.

    I imagine hitting a bear would be like hitting a 200+ pound opossum.
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    Yeah, probably. :rolleyes:

    Had neighbor whose two horses got loose. Somebody hit and killed BOTH of them and never reported it. As someone who has hit a horse, let me tell you, you KNOW you hit something LARGE. And the damage to your vehicle will be significant.

    I imagine hitting a bear would be like hitting a 200+ pound opossum.
    Oh yeah! Look at how much damage a small deer can do. I can only imagine something bigger than that.
     

    Timjoebillybob

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    Poor little fella...

    Black bear found dead near Bristol



    How do you hit a bear and not report it? :dunno:
    Large truck/semi didn't hit it square and it ran off and died later? Might not have gotten a good look at it and assumed deer? Thought it was a bear but didn't want to call it in because they were worried about them thinking they were crazy/drugged/drunk?

    And they don't know if it was hit or not.
    “At this time, we don’t know if someone hit it on the toll road or how the bear died,” said Brad Westrich, a mammologist with Indiana DNR. “When we arrived, the bear was bloated and in an advanced state of decomposition.”

    From the photos it appears to be lying right on the side of the road, how long was it lying there before it was called in.
    Sometimes I think half the people on the road are driving impaired, suspended license, no insurance... or something. They don't call the police.
    Or this.

    Oh yeah! Look at how much damage a small deer can do. I can only imagine something bigger than that.
    Depends on the vehicle, when I hit a good sized deer (LEO estimated 170-180ish lbs) all it did was knock out part of the grill on my car. And I hit it solid at about 50 mph.

    I also know someone that hit a opossum and did several thousand in damages.

    I was driving a 71 olds 98, the guy that hit the possum was driving a prius and it tore up the regenative braking system.
     

    ghuns

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    Why would you report it? For that matter, how many people would you have to report it to before you finally found someone that even cared? It's a road killed wild animal, not a person, a pet, nor even a rare wild animal.
    Indiana law requires you to report any accident with over $1000 damage. These days, that's a good sized scratch to your bumper cover or a busted headlight. Some insurance companies will also require a police report for them to cover any damage. It's also a f**king bear, in northern Indiana. Whether you hit a bear, a deer, a horse, a cow, or a buffalo, if you have vehicle damage or an injury and dial 911, you'll find someone who cares.
     

    BAgun

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    That's awesome, not that it got hit but that there's one in Indiana. I've never seen one in Indiana. It would be cool to hunt an animal that could easily kill you
     

    two70

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    Indiana law requires you to report any accident with over $1000 damage. These days, that's a good sized scratch to your bumper cover or a busted headlight. Some insurance companies will also require a police report for them to cover any damage. It's also a f**king bear, in northern Indiana. Whether you hit a bear, a deer, a horse, a cow, or a buffalo, if you have vehicle damage or an injury and dial 911, you'll find someone who cares.
    Sure, I see why you would report it from an insurance standpoint (and why some would choose not to) but that assumes facts not in evidence (injury, significant vehicle damage ect.). The only facts in evidence are that a bear is dead along side a highway and I doubt that the local cops are all that interested in responding to a road killed bear. A CO, sure.

    Yes, its a f'ing bear, JUST a f'ing bear. They are not a rare, protected or endangered species. There's no more reason to report a bear than there would be for a deer and law or not, I doubt the majority of people report hitting a deer unless they are injured or severe damage occurs to their vehicle.
     

    two70

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    That's awesome, not that it got hit but that there's one in Indiana. I've never seen one in Indiana. It would be cool to hunt an animal that could easily kill you
    I wouldn't count on getting to hunt one any time soon after they are established here. We've had a large population of bobcats that has been in desperate need of management for years and are still far from having even a limited hunting season. Bears will likely be even worse. There are too many clueless people that irrationally idolize them, most of which will never have to deal with the problems that they will cause.
     

    Timjoebillybob

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    Why would you report it? For that matter, how many people would you have to report it to before you finally found someone that even cared? It's a road killed wild animal, not a person, a pet, nor even a rare wild animal.
    It is possible it is a pet, I met a guy that had a couple. This was in NWI, when I was at his shop he had a black bear cub(mom was at home), a mountain lion and 3 tiger cubs. Don't know what else he had at his home/property. And not that long ago there was a guy maybe 10-15 minutes away from me that had a wide variety of large cats and a couple of bears. This was in White Co.

    I'm guessing if you called local/county/ISP that would be the only people you would need to report it to. They would probably get in touch with the INDNR.
    Yes, its a f'ing bear, JUST a f'ing bear. They are not a rare, protected or endangered species. There's no more reason to report a bear than there would be for a deer and law or not, I doubt the majority of people report hitting a deer unless they are injured or severe damage occurs to their vehicle.
    Rare? Depends, I'd say they are pretty rare in IN considering that there have been only 5 sighted here in the last what half a dozen years? But they are protected in IN.
    312 IAC 9-3-18.8 Black bears
    Authority: IC 14-22-2-6
    Affected: IC 14-22
    Sec. 18.8. (a) A person must not take a black bear (Ursus americanus) except
    with one (1) of the following:
    (1) A scientific purposes license issued under 312 IAC 9-10-6.
    (2) A nuisance wild animal control permit issued under 312 IAC 9-10-11.
    (b) A person must not possess a live black bear except with one (1) of the following:
    (1) A wild animal possession permit issued under 312 IAC 9-11.
    (2) A wild animal rehabilitation permit issued under 312 IAC 9-10-9.
    (3) A scientific purposes license issued under 312 IAC 9-10-6.
    (4) A nuisance wild animal control permit issued under 312 IAC 9-10-11.
    (5) A registered or licensed educational or scientific institution with the United States Department of Agriculture in accordance
     

    two70

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    It is possible it is a pet, I met a guy that had a couple. This was in NWI, when I was at his shop he had a black bear cub(mom was at home), a mountain lion and 3 tiger cubs. Don't know what else he had at his home/property. And not that long ago there was a guy maybe 10-15 minutes away from me that had a wide variety of large cats and a couple of bears. This was in White Co.

    I'm guessing if you called local/county/ISP that would be the only people you would need to report it to. They would probably get in touch with the INDNR.

    Rare? Depends, I'd say they are pretty rare in IN considering that there have been only 5 sighted here in the last what half a dozen years? But they are protected in IN.
    312 IAC 9-3-18.8 Black bears
    Authority: IC 14-22-2-6
    Affected: IC 14-22
    Sec. 18.8. (a) A person must not take a black bear (Ursus americanus) except
    with one (1) of the following:
    (1) A scientific purposes license issued under 312 IAC 9-10-6.
    (2) A nuisance wild animal control permit issued under 312 IAC 9-10-11.
    (b) A person must not possess a live black bear except with one (1) of the following:
    (1) A wild animal possession permit issued under 312 IAC 9-11.
    (2) A wild animal rehabilitation permit issued under 312 IAC 9-10-9.
    (3) A scientific purposes license issued under 312 IAC 9-10-6.
    (4) A nuisance wild animal control permit issued under 312 IAC 9-10-11.
    (5) A registered or licensed educational or scientific institution with the United States Department of Agriculture in accordance
    When an animal has a reproducing population in parts of 41 of the lower 48 states, it's hard to consider it truly rare. Even harder to consider it rare when it is populous enough in neighboring states that we're receiving overflow.
     

    Timjoebillybob

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    When an animal has a reproducing population in parts of 41 of the lower 48 states, it's hard to consider it truly rare. Even harder to consider it rare when it is populous enough in neighboring states that we're receiving overflow.
    Which is why I stated here in IN, not other states. Bald Eagles up until pretty recently were rare in IN, up in AK they were/are considered a nuisance by many like we consider pigeons.

    Do people eat Black Bear or any bear for that matter?
    Yes.
     

    4651feeder

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    Oct 21, 2016
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    East of NWI
    “We were able to collect the carcass, from which we could determine it was in an extreme state of decomposition,” Westrich said.

    That statement causes uneasiness in me, cause unless I've misinterpreted; to me it implies the animal had been dead for some time and as heavily traveled as that section of hwy is....
    Allow me to join the ranks of speculation; I'm inclined to think it was picked up along another hwy elsewhere and whoever did that deed got cold feet before entering the Toll Rd.

    Recall more than a few years ago a headless body was found out west of Bendix Woods that ended up belonging to a Middle Eastern ND student. The remainder was later found within several hundred yards of the bear site. In spite of all the speculative theories, I doubt either will ever be solved.
     
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