PERRY TOWNSHIP — An adult male black bear was euthanized by authorities after being struck by a pickup truck in Richland County on Saturday morning just south of Lexington, according to a spokesperson with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Rumors circulated locally on Facebook and various other social media outlets all weekend before finally being confirmed on Monday afternoon by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
A photo purporting to be the bear after the incident was posted at the Facebook page Lexington Ohio Community 2.0.
The incident took place on Ohio 546 near Black Road. Wildlife biologist Katie Dennison said the adult male weighed 246 pounds.
“That’s a pretty big bear for Ohio,” Dennison said. “It’s mating season for them, so you do see adult males moving around pretty quickly looking for females.”
Authorities arrived on the scene Saturday and were forced to put the creature down due to the severity of its injuries, she said.
“We have a population of between 50 and 100 bears in Ohio,” Dennison said.
She noted those numbers are growing in northeast Ohio, near the Ashtabula area.
This is the first confirmed sighting of a black bear in Richland County since 1999, Dennison said. There have been five confirmed sightings in the county since 1990.
Black bears have a very varied diet throughout the year. Dennison said in the spring that can consist of skunk cabbage and ant colonies. Later in the summer their attention turns to berries, and nuts like acorns in the fall.
Naturally, the omnivores are constantly foraging for food too, which could include roadside carrion.
There were reports last week of a black bear moving through Licking, Delaware and Morrow counties. Dennison said the Division of Wildlife has no way of knowing if this was the same bear.
She encouraged anyone who sees a bear to report the sighting to the Division of Wildlife. Bear or other wildlife sightings can be reported to ODNR using this link.
More information on black bears in Ohio can also be found at Wildohio.gov or by calling 1-800-WILDLIFE.