For the second time in as many months, a bear has been hit by a car in the Vance-Granville area, and the resulting injuries required that the bear be euthanized. Unlike last time when the bear involved was hit on I-85 in Granville County, this time it happened in the city limits of Henderson.
Police Chief Marcus Barrow told WIZS News, “Last night about 9:30 or 10:00 o’clock, a bear was struck on Ruin Creek Road at 85 right there by Sheetz and the hospital.”
No one was injured, but the car involved sustained the same amount of damage you might expect from striking a deer.
“The bear was struck and enough damage was done (to the bear) that wildlife came and had to put the bear down,” Barrow said.
The thought was, and the chief agreed, that even though it was on the edge of the city limits, this is pretty close to town for a bear. He said, “I wouldn’t have thought a bear would be that close to town, but there’s enough woods in that area I guess.”
It was a 115-to-120-pound bear that North Carolina Wildlife Officials believed, according to Barrow, was about a one-and-a-half year old male.
Barrow said, “I would have much rather we found the bear in the intersection and tranquilized him and took it back out somewhere. It’s just unusual to have a bear in town.”