Interesting Bear report

Monday, August 25, 2008


Research bear recovers after collision with Toyota near Ely
John Myers Duluth News Tribune
Published Monday, August 25, 2008

A 250-pound black bear has surprised all observers by recovering from injuries suffered in a collision with a Toyota Camry that damaged the car so badly it was totaled.

The bear was part of the ongoing research of Ely bear expert Lynn Rogers and carried a radio transmitting collar.

After the accident, Rogers immediately found the collar — broken off the bear from the July 10 collision along Minnesota Highway 169 between Tower and Ely. But the bear, named Braveheart, escaped the crash scene.



A sheriff’s deputy took the time to search near the crash to see if Braveheart might be suffering, with thoughts of having to dispatch the wounded animal. But he could find no sign of the bear.

It’s estimated the car was traveling at about 60 mph, and the bear hit it square in the middle of the front end.

“I assumed she was a goner. I mean, if you look at the car, there’s no way,’’ Rogers said, noting the 1996 Camry’s front end was smashed with damage estimated at more than $6,000.

But last week, five weeks after the accident, Braveheart reappeared. Rogers, as usual, walked up to the 6-year-old bear that he has been working with since it was a cub.

“I felt her all over and the only place she pulled away was the right rear leg, so that was still hurting,” he said.

Rogers fitted Braveheart with a new radio transmitter collar and she’s back in the woods, appar-ently recovered — one of 10 bears that Rogers’ team is tracking as part of a long-term bear behavior study that has brought Rogers considerable national and even international attention.