Dead black bear found on NC State campus bench

RALEIGH (AP) — Wildlife officers are investigating who hauled a dead black bear onto a bench at the heart of the North Carolina State University campus.

N.C. State Police Maj. David Kelly says the roughly 200-pound bear was found by a groundskeeper early Tuesday in the Brickyard, an open gathering space in front of the central library. Kelly says the animal was dead before being brought to campus. He would not say what officers think caused the death.

State wildlife commission spokesman Jeff Cantrell says the adult male bear was in good health when it died, but he would not describe the cause or time of death.

State law restricts black bear hunting to a staggered season that starts as early as mid-October and runs as late as the first of the year.