If ever there was a case to illustrate the problem of black bears becoming habituated to the human environment, the “falling bear”  immortalized on the Web a week ago is it. The Chicago Tribune reports today the bear was killed in a car accident.

The 280-pound male black bear was tagged and released in a wildlife area 50 miles from Boulder, Colorado, where it had climbed a tree on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus. Animal control officers tranquilized the bear to get it down.

This bear found its way back, so strong was its connection to the city. It was struck by two cars and killed on the highway 2.5 miles from the campus.