'It's unfortunate and unusual': Vehicle hits black bear on southern Indiana interstate

Andrew Clark | IndyStar

Show Caption Hide Caption How to stay safe on Indiana's highways More than 800 people are killed each year on Indiana's highways. Here are some ways to stay safe.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says a vehicle struck a black bear on I-64 in New Albany around 8 p.m. Sunday night.

The bear wandered back into heavy brush after the incident, and its condition is unknown, Marty Benson, the assistant director of communications for the DNR, told IndyStar. The driver and the car were unharmed, the New Albany Police Department told the Louisville Courier Journal.

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The DNR also provided a photo of the bear's print, compared to the size of a dollar bill:

Black bears are rarely spotted in Indiana. Before a black bear entered Indiana at the Michigan border in 2015, the last confirmed report of a black bear in the state was in 1871, according to the DNR. Since then, black bears were spotted in March and July of 2016.

"It’s unfortunate and unusual for a bear to be hit on an Indiana roadway," said Brad Westrich, a DNR mammalogist. "But bear sightings are nothing to be alarmed about. As bear populations expand in neighboring states, it’s only natural that they become more common here."

Black bears are rarely aggressive towards humans, the DNR says. If you see a black bear, the DNR says to do the following:

Enjoy it from a distance.

Don't attempt to feed or attract it. Feeding a bear increases the likelihood of having a negative interaction with it.

Don't climb a tree.

Advertise your presence by shouting and waving your arms and backing slowly away.

Report bear sightings to the Indiana Division of Fish & Wildlife. Call at (812) 334-1137 or email at dfw@dnr.in.gov.

The Louisville Courier Journal contributed to this story.

Andrew Clark is Facebook editor for IndyStar. Call him at (317) 444-6484 or email him at andrew.clark@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Clarky_Tweets.

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