A trucker hit a 600-pound bear in Missouri, killing it on contact. According to Fox News , a trucker driving a semitrailer struck the large bear , which was likely so big because it was putting on weight for the winter. The accident happened near the Arkansas border on Monday, according to Paul Veatch with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
“A Missouri trooper had to use a log chain to move the bear. Authorities used a front end loader to lift the animal from the ground into Veatch’s truck,” reports Fox News .
The bear was taken to a facility in Jefferson City to be studied.
The trucker who hit the 600-pound bear thought that a cow had run into the side of his truck. Most people have never seen a bear that large, so you can imagine the trucker’s surprise when he learned that it was a bear he had collided with.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch , the black bear is just one of the man believed to be living in the area. Experts believe that there are about 400 black bears living in southern Missouri.
Black bears have been in the news quite a bit recently. As previously reported by the Inquisitr , two black bears were spotted wrestling on a street in Rockaway, New Jersey, last month. The two animals didn’t really care who was watching them as they pawed each other, and rolled around, clearly having a great time. A man in the area managed to take a video of the action, and while his camera skills need some improvement, the video is certainly worth the watch .
“Contrary to popular belief, black bears are not vicious animals unless they are either frightened and provoked, or very hungry. Animal experts say that brawls such as this one are usually set off by a rivalry over a female bear.”
The trucker that hit the 600-pound black bear in Missouri wasn’t the only person to hit and kill a bear this week. According to YDR , a driver in Pennsylvania struck a black bear while driving on I-83. That bear is believed to have weighed 300 pounds, and was likely on the move to find its hibernation spot.
“The paw was bigger than my boot,” said Curtis Brubaker Jr. of Dover Township, who saw the dead animal on the side of the road. “Unfortunately, it met 83 and morning rush hour.”
[Photo courtesy of Mickael Brangeon via Wikimedia Commons ]
