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Hopewell Junction Incident Among Recent Accidents Involving Bears In Area

Most motorists are familiar with deer crossing signs. But how about bear crossings?

A small bear was found dead on May 2 along the Taconic State Parkway in Hopewell Junction. State officials estimate that 10 to 20 bears are killed in this region of New York by cars each year.

A small bear was found dead on May 2 along the Taconic State Parkway in Hopewell Junction. State officials estimate that 10 to 20 bears are killed in this region of New York by cars each year.

Photo Credit: Contributed photo

Bear sightings used to be a rarity in the tri-state area. But sightings are at record levels this year,. This is particularly true near New York state's border with Connecticut along Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties, as reported here by Daily Voice.

Now, New York state officials are beginning to track data on vehicle accidents involving bears.

The latest report of a bear killed on area roadways came on May 2, when a small bear was found dead on a Taconic State Parkway median just south of Interstate 84 in Hopewell Junction.

"We don’t have too much information on this bear," said Sarah Shepard, a spokeswoman with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. "It was a small bear. It was reported by someone who saw it after it had been killed."

The statistics on bears killed by cars each year are not too reliable, "as many times it is not reported to us," Shepard said. "We like to know if a bear that we tagged was hit, especially those that have tags and collars, as we’ll retrieve the collar."

Shepard said DEC's Region 3, which includes seven counties, gets reports of 10 to 20 bears killed by cars each year. "But that figure may be considerably different than what actually happens, again due to inconsistent reporting," Shepard said.

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