MassWildlife Refutes Report of Plymouth Bear Struck By Car

PLYMOUTH (WBSM) — MassWildlife is refuting a report that a driver on Route 3 in Plymouth struck a black bear this morning.

Marshfield radio station WATD reported this morning that Massachusetts State Police told the station’s news department that a driver said they struck a bear near Clark Road in Plymouth at about 7:15 a.m.

According to the report, the driver was not injured, and the bear went into the median but could not be located when police arrived to the scene.

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MassWildlife, however, is refuting that the bear was struck.

“Our district manager followed up on it and it turns out it was just a report of the bear on the highway median,” said Dave Wattles, Black Bear & Furbearer biologist for MassWildlife. “The bear was gone when he drove through the area, but he actually spotted it shortly after, walking across a powerline right of way.”

According to the district manager, the bear showed zero signs of injury.

Although this bear was not struck by a vehicle, it has happened before. Back in 2021, the black bear that had come to be known throughout the SouthCoast and South Shore as “Boo Boo” died after being struck by a medical transport van on Interstate 195 in Marion.

MassWildlife has been tracking the bears in the area, and says it is going to become more common to see them around in the very near future. The group previously debunked rumors that a bear was shot and killed in Pembroke.