Sad news this morning as the AP is reporting that the bear found on CU campus last week was hit by a car on U.S. 36.
The bear was safely captured after authorities tranquilized it while it was perched in a tree on campus. That moment was immortalized in this picture taken by student Andy Duann and tweeted by the CU Independent.
Early warm weather this year has affected not only drought and growing conditions, but has awakened wildlife early. The Colorado Division of Wildlife has noted that the the unseasonable weather is awakening Colorado black bears and is asking that everyone be "bear aware".
In Colorado, the human population and animals typically occupy a lot of the same spaces, so contact is a regular occurrence. After confirming that the bear was one and the same, The Daily Camera quoted Jennifer Churchill, spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife:
"It's a bummer. It's so hard to go through this and not be able to give these bears a good place to live... The community sees relocating bears as a kind of perfect solution, and unfortunately it's a really difficult proposition."
The bear became an instant celebrity online following the viral picture. Inevitably, the picture became a meme. I prefer to remember the bear with my favorite of those many memes:
See more on Know Your Meme
