Bear struck and killed on Hwy. 29

A 520-pound black bear struck by a vehicle in the town of Herman on Thursday night became a social media sensation this week, largely due to its unusual size for this time of year.

The bear was hit on state Highway 29 around 8:45 p.m. by a Lincoln Town Car that was totaled, according to the Shawano Counthy Sheriff’s Department report. The vehicle occupants, a Shawano couple, were not injured.

The bear survived long enough to run off but was later found near Spruce Road.

Kay Brockman-Mederas, wildlife biologist the the Shawano DNR office, said the bear’s size was unusual for this time of year.

Bears coming out of hibernation lose a lot of their weight, she said. The size of this one suggests that after a summer of feeding it probably would have weighed well over 600 pounds by the fall.

Most bears claimed by hunters weigh between 200 and 400 pounds, Brockman-Mederas said.

The bear carcass was picked up by the Shawano County Highway Department.

“It took a lot of guys to get it into the truck,” Brockman-Mederas said.

The bear’s skull will eventually go to the Navarino Nature Center for educational purposes, she said. A tooth from the skull will also be cross-sectioned to determine the bear’s age.

Photos of the bear were featured on the Gresham Bear Hunters’ Facebook page.

According to the organization, the heaviest known bear in Shawano County weighed in 736 pounds.

Brockman-Mederas said the timing of the accident is fitting for the message the DNR puts out to the public this time of year: using caution on the roads as wildlife becomes more active.

Though bear collisions are not uncommon, a more prevalent danger are deer, which will be increasingly on the move into May, she said.

Brockman-Mederas also suggested people discourage bears from foraging by taking down their bird-feeders and not putting their garbage out on the curb overnight.

“They’ll be looking for food,” she said.