The famed Clover Hill bear, first seen last Wednesday behind the courtyard, has died. The female American black bear arrived at The Hill with traumatic injuries to her body, and infections in her nose and mouth. She appeared malnourished, weighing in at 60 pounds according to the Virginia Department of Wildlife (VDW) Resources. After a standoff with law enforcement in a tree, she was tranquilized and brought to the VDW. Once there, the VDW proclaimed the bear too sick to rehabilitate and decided the humane decision was euthanization.
Questions have been raised as to what brought the bear to The Hill, with the most prevalent theory being local deforestation. Since the building of “The Lake” off Genito in 2021, concern for local wildlife has grown exponentially, with citizens wondering where Virginia wildlife is to go. Over 150 acres have been cleared to hold the development.
“The main reason why a black bear would wander into heavily populated areas like Midlothian/Richmond would be lack of resources,” said Maymont animal keeper Caitlin Greene.
Greene believes that deforestation is the cause of The bear’s wandering.
“It’s similar to how you’d see a deer living in a small, wooded area in a neighborhood; they would live in a forest, but if the forest is turned into a housing development, where else will they go?”
Despite the concern raised from the bear roaming The Hill, students shouldn’t fear the rare sight.
“Black bears are not aggressive,” said science teacher Nick Braun. “They’re very shy, so people are saying there’s bear attacks, [but] that is false information.”
Students on The Hill should admire Virginia wildlife cautiously from afar. Nature may be beautiful, but creating a mutual respect for it makes it thrive.
