ULLOWEE, N.C. -- The carcass of a black bear that had been shot in the head was found, stapled to it were Barack Obama campaign signs on a North Carolina campus on Monday.
Western Carolina University Campus Police Chief Tom Johnson said that officers were called about a dead bear on campus at about 7:45 a.m. WCU police called the state wildlife department to remove the bear from the campus.
Johnson said he has "no idea" what the motive for the killing or putting the signs on the body would be.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is investigating the incident as a criminal matter. Although it is bear hunting season, to dump a bear's carcass is considered "wanton and willful waste of wildlife."
Anyone with information about the bear is asked to call the commission's violation hotline at 1-800-662-7137. A reward will be offered.