Mystery Solved

Just as I suspected, the incident of the bear being crushed by a grain combine (see Nov. 16 post) happened in northern Wisconsin, not in Illinois. And this is at least the second time this has happened in Wisconsin this fall. The state has a large population of black bears, and this excellent article gives all the details, including a great photo of a momma bear and her cubs in a den. The two bears crushed in their dens by the combines were males, who usually den by themselves.