Black Bear Dies After Being Hit By Car In North Kingstown: Report

NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI — A 250-pound black bear died late last month after reportedly getting hit by a car in North Kingstown.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) told WPRI 12 the bear's body was found on Route 4 on May 25. The body was removed from the highway by DEM officials so they could examine it.

According to DEM officials, Rhode Island's black bear population is small and only includes "a handful" of the species. The population was once strong, but it vanished around 1800.

But as farms in the Northeast were abandoned, forests began to grow back, allowing the black bear population to regenerate in recent decades, DEM officials said. DEM officials said bear population growth and range expansion is expected to continue, particularly in rural parts of Providence, Kent, and Washington counties.

Learn more about Rhode Island's black bear population on the DEM's website.

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