A black bear died Friday morning after it was electrocuted while climbing a utility pole near a Colorado highway, wildlife officials said.
According to a resident, the female adult bear was crossing a road in Routt County, south of Steamboat Springs, when it was scared by an oncoming car, the Steamboat Pilot & Today newspaper reported.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer Jack Taylor told the newspaper the bear ran into a nearby field and climbed up a wooden pole. When the animal reached the power lines, it received an electrical shock and fell to the ground, Taylor told the Pilot & Today.
Taylor said he found the bear dead at the base of the utility pole, the newspaper reported.
"Basically, the bear is trying to get away from something," Taylor told the Pilot & Today. "The bear climbs the power pole just like they climb trees, then it hits the power lines."
Taylor told the newspaper his agency will donate the meat if it is salvageable.
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