WALKER, Mich. (AP) - A black bear nicknamed Yogi was struck and killed Tuesday on a highway ramp in the Grand Rapids area, police said.
The bear, an adult male weighing roughly 250 pounds, had been spotted for a few years in Walker. He was hit by a large truck on a ramp leading to westbound Interstate 96.
“There were no injuries to the occupants of the vehicle. … RIP Big Fella,” Walker police said on Facebook.
The Department of Natural Resources set traps in two locations last year but couldn’t catch and relocate Yogi.
“They’re smart,” said state wildlife biologist John Niewoonder.
He said the bear probably spent the winter in the Grand Rapids area and “just woke up again.”
“We never had any indication that this bear was trying to break into a house or a building, or that it threatened anybody in any way,’’ Niewoonder told WZZM-TV. “He was hard on bird feeders, but that’s something we can live with, I think.’’
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