Black bear seen in NJ towns tranquilized and taken away
NEW JERSEY (FOX5NY.COM) - Wildlife experts have sedated and removed a black bear that was hanging out in trees near New Jersey homes on Monday and Tuesday.
The Paramus Police Department said on Facebook Monday night that officers were unable to capture the bear. Earlier, animal control workers used noisemakers to try to wake the bear and chase it out of the tree but the animal ignored them.
The bear left the tree in Paramus late Monday night and then appeared in Ridgewood on Tuesday.
"The bear came to our backyard and took a drink from our pond, we have a backyard pond, and then it took nap on our back lawn," Ridgewood resident Alexa Topolski said. "Animal control came and they scared it up a tree."
Animal control officers had a plan.
"When Fish and Wildlife gets here, there'll be a tranquilizer. We'll dart him," animal control officer Carol Tyler said. "He's in a better position. We're not in an area where he'll get hurt. He's in a nice low tree. He'll get a little sleep. We'll get him in a net and put him in a carrier."
Eventually, Fish and Wildlife Division officers arrived, prepared a cage and a tranquilizer, and then darted the bear, who fell asleep. Authorities brought the bear to an undisclosed habitat, likely in northwestern New Jersey.
Authorities estimated the male bear to be about a year and a half old and weighing about 120 pounds.
Tyler said the bear, who was living in a nearby park, was "just too comfortable" with humans, indicating that people may have fed him.
With the Associated Press
RESOURCES