Maine researchers find bear den 15 feet high in tree

UNITY — Most bears tend to hibernate in hollow logs, underground dens or even tree stumps. But Unity College researchers have found a high-flying bear.

A Unity alumnus who’s participating in a bear study in central Maine used a radio tracking collar to find a bear in a den 15 feet off up in a hollowed-out tree.

College spokesman Mark Tardif says it’s the same bear that was being tracked by a helicopter when it crashed last summer, injuring the pilot and a student. The bear was recently found up in the tree, this time without any drama.

The study, now in its second year, features analyses of blood and DNA, along with tracking of black bears. Unity College is providing data to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

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