A black bear was hit by a car and killed on a Tennessee highway after finding a delicious snack on the side of the road while gearing up for winter, Appalachian Bear Rescue officials said on Facebook.

The rescue group, or ABR, said it received a report Tuesday of an adult black bear struck and killed on Highway 321 as it entered Townsend, Tennessee.

But the bear “was left in a location that was far too dangerous for ABR curators to access safely,” the agency said, because the road in that section of the highway “quickly becomes steep and winding the closer you get to the mountains which results in poor visibility.” for drivers.”

The group said it was important to remove the bear from that area, not only to get it out of the way of oncoming traffic, but also to see if the bear was male or female, because if it was a female there would have been cubs around.

On Wednesday, ABR curators and the city’s police chief determined that the bear was a male. As they inspected the bear’s remains, they saw what drew the bear to the busy highway in the first place: a bowl of pancakes.

A large bear has hidden under a house in the Sierra Madre. Gordon Tokumatsu reports for NBC4 News at 3:00 PM on Monday, September 23, 2024.

“There was a bowl of discarded pancakes less than thirty meters away from the deceased bear,” the ABR said. “When autumn hyperphagia was in full swing, the male bear probably saw the pancakes as an easy, high-calorie meal.”

The ABR continued: “Unfortunately, this meal was the last meal he would ever have.”

The agency reminded residents to live responsibly in the area, where black bears are common. Securing your food, waste and recycling is crucial, the ABR said, adding that throwing unwanted food and waste into the wild is “dangerous not only to bears but also to all other wildlife.”

“We hope to use this message to encourage the public not to litter along our mountain roads and hopefully save the life of a future bear in the process,” the ABR wrote.

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