FLOYD COUNTY, Ind. — State conservation officers are looking into a possible black bear sighting in southern Indiana after a car crash involving a “large animal” in southern Indiana.
The driver of the car called New Albany police around 8 p.m. Sunday and reported hitting a “small bear” on I-64 near I-265.
The driver and several conservation officers looked for the bear after the crash. The search was limited due to darkness and the rugged, dangerous terrain of the area, says the Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources.
State conservation officers will check the area today for any signs of the bear.
Indiana DNR has confirmed several black bear sightings in the last few years.
In 2015, DNR reported the first confirmed sighting of a black bear in Indiana in 144 years. The bear had crossed into St. Joseph County from Michigan.
In July 2016, state conservation officials confirmed that a young black bear swam across the Ohio River and crossed into southern Indiana. The bear went into hibernation at Big Oaks Wildlife Refuge that winter and was last spotted near Madison in early 2017.
(Photo by mtnmichelle/Thinkstock.)
