The cause of death of multiple bears that were discovered in a Pennsylvania church parking lot has been revealed.
There were no “signs of bullet wounds or external trauma” to the animals.
“We consider the deaths of these bears highly suspicious,” Game Commission Northeast Region Law Enforcement Supervisor Mark Rutkowski said. “Toxicological testing will be performed in an attempt to determine a cause of death.”
The Pennsylvania Game Commission revealed on Facebook the bears likely cause of death: poisoning.
The four bears were found dead in or around the same tree without “evidence of thrashing or stumbling in the area…suggesting they died suddenly.”
“Organic chemical screens were performed on the stomach contents, liver and kidneys of the bears to test for the presence of pesticides, euthanasia agents and environmental contaminants. The results of these screens, as well as a tests for the presence of ethylene glycol (a compound found in antifreeze) were all negative,” the department wrote on Facebook.
Therefore, the presence of the leaves and seeds in the stomach of the bears led to the conclusion that their deaths were from plant toxin poisoning.
