A dead bear was found Monday night on a highway in Thurston County, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Just after 9 p.m., the State Patrol responded to state Route 8 and Rock Candy Mountain Road, Trooper Juan Martinez said Tuesday.
That location is near Summit Lake.
It was not immediately clear if the bear had been struck by a vehicle, he said, but the bear was found in the right lane of the highway, Martinez said.
It also was not immediately clear how the bear was disposed of, he said.
Troopers will sometimes remove animals if they are small enough – the State Patrol removed an injured Barred owl from Interstate 5 on Sunday – but in this case the bear was moved to the side of the road, Martinez said.
State Department of Transportation crews will sometimes remove animals, but a spokesperson for WSDOT said Tuesday they had not received a request for large animal removal at the state Route 8 location.
Rolf has worked at The Olympian since August 2005. He covers breaking news, the city of Lacey and business for the paper. Rolf graduated from The Evergreen State College in 1990.
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