TALENT, Ore. – Oregon State Police said two bears were found dead near Anderson Creek road, not far from Talent.
On October 29, a black bear was found in a tree.
It had two bullet holes and was struck by an arrow.
Just two days later, another bear was found dead in the same area but the body was decomposed.
“Looking at the evidence that both these locations it was pretty clear that there was human involvement in these bears becoming deceased,” OSP Lt. Vonn Schleicher said. “So we’re reaching out to the public for any assistance on this case.”
Police believe this killing is unlawful, as there are restrictions on the type of weapons that can be used to kill a bear during hunting season and the animal’s remains were left after killing it.
This isn’t the first bear sighting in Jackson County this fall.
In September, a woman in west Medford was attacked by a bear.
It was later shot and killed by Medford Police.
Four days later, neighbors spotted another bear in a Talent neighborhood.
Last month, two more bears were spotted in west and east Medford.
Police said it’s been a trend across the state.
“We’ve seen an increase of bear and human interaction statewide, not just Jackson County,” Schleicher said. “We have seen an increase this year and that could be a couple different factors.”
OSP said urban growth in rural areas and lack of clean up around houses in populated areas are a couple reasons why we’ve seen more bear sightings.
Police are asking that anyone with information about this case to call Oregon State Police.
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