With the long weekend upon us in both Canada and the United States, one police agency is urging motorists to pay attention to the road with the release of dramatic dash cam footage.
Released by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the video shows a pickup truck slam into a black bear on US-60 last Friday.
Incredibly, police say, the bear was not hurt in the crash.
“Although the bear in this video was not seriously injured, it creates the potential for a dangerous encounter with an injured bear,” the Missouri State Highway Patrol said.
READ MORE: Hundreds of bears killed due to conflicts with people, says province
Police say they are urging motorists to pay attention to bears and other wildlife that may stray onto highways and roads.
“As bear populations increase in Missouri, so will incidents involving bears and humans,” police said. “If you strike a bear on the highway, contact the Highway Patrol and remain inside your vehicle until the trooper arrives.”
The dangers posed by bear/human interactions is hardly confined to Missouri. This past week a young bear had to be euthanized after spending the past few weeks eating household garbage in Kelowna neighbourhoods.
British Columbia officials says every year hundreds, and in some cases more than a thousand, bears are destroyed as a result of conflicts with people.
Most of the time, the issue arises when there is easy access to non-natural food sources like garbage.
-With files from Neetu Garcha
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