(Elkhart County, IN) - Black bear sightings in Indiana are a rarity. On Wednesday, one turned up dead on an Elkhart County roadside.

The Department of Natural Resources is now reporting the bear’s cause of death. A Purdue animal lab has determined the bear was struck by a vehicle. The animal was located next to S.R. 15, not far from the Indiana Toll Road entrance.

It’s the first black bear seen in northern Indiana since 2015 and only the fifth reported sighting since 1871.