Princeton: The dead bear

Everybody’s been talking about the bear, and now there’s a dead bear,
Bear Found Dead Along Route 95
It’s unclear, but possible, that this was the same bear that was in Princeton this week.

The bear was found run over on Route 95 near the intersection of Route 31 at Exit 4

Not only was there a dead bear, it then went missing,

The adolescent black bear that wandered around Princeton most of the day Wednesday and Thursday could be the same bear that was struck by a car and killed on Interstate 95 early this morning, but possibly not.

State officials are urging people not to jump to the conclusion that the bear killed on the highway is the same one spotted in Princeton in recent days, though it is a possibility.

State police confirmed to Planet Princeton that a black bear was struck by a vehicle on Interstate 95 in the northbound lane near Exit 4 just after 6:30 a.m. The bear matched the general description of the bear seen in Princeton in terms of size and weight. Gruesome photos of the bear taken after it was struck on the highway show it was probably struck at high speed, possibly by a tractor trailer.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife received a call about a bear killed on Route 95 this morning, but when a DFW official arrived at around 7:30 a.m., the bear was gone, DFW Spokesman Bob Considine said. Officials are not sure who took it.

“It’s illegal to remove it,” Considine said.

It could be the same bear, or another bear. Sometimes siblings wander in the same area.

Maybe he took a Reichenbach fall, maybe he’s now a rug.