Franklin state police investigated two crashes Sunday that involved bears on highways, and experts say this is the time of the year when bears are more active and visible.
The first car-bear incident occurred at 12:30 a.m. Sunday on Shaffer Run Road in Sugarcreek Borough as Nicholas Nick, 49, of Oil City, was headed north when a bear crossed in front of his vehicle.
Nick swerved but still hit the bear, which caused him to hit a tree, a bank, and then another tree, police said.
Neither of the drivers were injured in either crash, according to police.
Dispatchers at the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s northwest office in Franklin said it’s almost time for bears to start hibernating. And in order to do that, they are more active in the county — and statewide — right now, according to the Game Commission.
Pregnant black bear females are the first to den, according to Game Commission literature, typically heading in for the winter around mid-November.
Males typically roam and fatten up for a few extra weeks.
Exactly when bears begin to den for winter varies by region, and is weather and resource dependent. The less food there is for bears right now, the longer it’s going to take to get them to bed, the Game Commission says.
