Black bear carcass turns up alongside NE Iowa highway
Published 10:16 am Wednesday, June 17, 2015
JESUP, Iowa — Authorities say the carcass of a young black bear that was struck by a vehicle has been found in northeast Iowa.
The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office was notified about the carcass around 10:15 p.m. Sunday. It was alongside U.S. Highway 20, near Jesup. It’s unclear whether the bear was one of the animals seen last month in the Dubuque area, about 75 miles east. Iowa Natural Resources Department officials think two or three bears have been roaming the region.
Department spokesman Kevin Baskins says the bear was older than a cub, about 5 feet long and weighed about 150 pounds.
Brian Preston is executive director of the Dubuque County Conservation Board, and he says black bears vanished from Iowa years ago but lingered in neighboring Wisconsin and Minnesota.