A road crew on Thursday discovered the remains of a bear cub with its gallbladder removed on the border of Prince William Forest Park in Triangle.
Park rangers don’t know if the bear was "poached" at the park or killed elsewhere and dumped there, but they want to find out who is behind the crime.
"It's a shame," said Laura Cohen, chief of visitor services. "It's the first case we've had of it in the park."
There is a black market for bear gallbladders, which are used for medicinal and aphrodisiac purposes in some East Asian cultures. In some countries, the gallbladders are often sold for high prices.
Cohen said a crew doing some clean-up along the boundary between Prince William park and Quantico Marine Corps base came across a trash bag containing the black bear's remains about 8:30 a.m.
The cub appeared to be a yearling bear, she said. Rangers don't yet know how it was killed, but they do know its gallbladder had been removed.
In Virginia, it is illegal to buy or sell wildlife or wildlife parts, regardless of whether the wildlife was hunted legally. It is illegal to hunt on Prince William park's 15,000 acres.
Prince William Forest Park and bordering Quantico are home to a healthy population of black bears. The park and base own about 80,000 acres of mostly undeveloped land in the area.
Cohen said the park doesn't have an estimate on the number of black bears living nearby, but there are usually eight to 10 sightings each year.
Park rangers want to speak to anyone with information about the bear cub. The park is working with Quantico and state wildlife officials on the case.
"We know and respect the hunting community here, and I know a lot of hunters will be upset about this," Cohen said. "We're hoping someone out there has information to help us."
Anyone with tips is asked to call the 24-hour park ranger line at 866-667-6677.
Communities editor Kari Pugh can be reached at 703-530-3901.
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