On Sunday, Aug 4th, the sheriff’s department called at 5:27 p.m  about a bear that had been hit by a car.  They didn’t have the exact location, only an approximation of a 5 mile stretch of county highway. Counting both shoulders/ditches that’s about 10 miles to search.  They said it would be easy to find because the witness said it was on a hill by a rock.  Not a very helpful description, but Mark went to see what he could find. He drove the entire stretch. Nothing.

Around 8:15 p.m., the sheriff’s department called again. This time a bear was on someone’s deck in the same area where the accident had been reported. Mark called the homeowner and made arrangements to go retrieve it.

When Mark and interns Angie and Ashley arrived they found an adult bear sitting in a half barrel full of water like it was taking a bath. It made no attempts to get away and allowed Mark to easily tranquilize it.

In talking with the homeowner, they had heard the tire squeal and thud earlier, not knowing a bear had been hit. They just happened to look out to see a bear having difficulty walking across their deck and head for their bird bath.

Here’s a photo the homeowner took while waiting for Mark & interns to arrive:

Mark was able to easily tranquilize it, but getting it out of the barrel was a little harder on his back.

After a quick exam on the deck she was transported back to Wild Instincts.

She sustained substantial internal injuries and despite best efforts, did not survive the night 😦  She was only in our care for a brief time but will be remembered by many for a long time.