An adult black bear was found dead in a plastic bag Friday night in Arlington, Virginia, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington said.
Animal control was dispatched to Spout Run Parkway near N. Adams Street about 8:30 p.m. They were called about what was believed to be a dead dog, but a deputy then realized it was the body of an adult bear.
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WATCH HEREJennifer Toussant, the chief of animal control, and a conservation police officer from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources also went to the scene to help examine and remove the bear, according to a statement from AWLA. The body of the bear will undergo further forensic examination, officials said.
There was no information immediately available about how officials think the bear may have died.
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SIGN UP AWLA is asking that anyone with information to call them at 703-931-9241 or email animalcontrol@awla.org. They're especially interested in anyone who recalls seeing someone carrying a large plastic bag in the past few weeks around the area where the dead bear was found.
This comes a few weeks after several people reported seeing at least one black bear around Arlington and D.C. In June, a bear was captured in Northeast D.C. and relocated to a remote area of Maryland. Bears can be found throughout Maryland and Virginia, and they are regularly spotted in the suburbs.
