Mother bear, cub fatally struck by car near Reno

RENO — Nevada wildlife officials say a mother bear and a cub were fatally struck by a car near Reno, and two of her other cubs may have survived the accident.

Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy says one of the cubs died at the scene while the mother bear and the other cubs left after the collision Thursday night on old Highway 40 in Verdi just west of Reno.

Healy says after the accident, the mother wandered about 200 yards away with the other cubs and laid down under a tree behind an abandoned house.

Wildlife officials found the mother dead with one cub atop her body on Friday morning, but were unsuccessful in their attempts to capture the animal.

Healy says officials have placed the mother’s body in a trap in hopes of luring the cubs and capturing them over the weekend.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reports the cubs would be taken to a Reno-area wildlife refuge, where they would be cared for and prepared for release back into the wild, probably in February.