Police: Bears Disappeared Into Woods

Four black bears spent most of Sunday foraging around a residential neighborhood of West Caldwell, according to police who warned residents to remain inside.

A mother bear and her three cubs were kept under the watchful eye of the police for more than six hours until finally at about 6 p.m. they crossed a busy county road and headed toward nearby woods.

Police stopped traffic so the black bears could get across Bloomfield Avenue safely. The bears then proceeded onto Henderson Drive and disappeared into a wooded area of Fairfield, Captain Gerard Paris said.

“The bears, as far as we know, they are out in the woods,” Paris said Monday.

West Caldwell resident Walter Amores said he stepped out on his deck Sunday morning and heard a humming sound which turned out to be three bear cubs up in a tree on his Francine Avenue property.

Before he could alert officials he said a neighbor must have already called because he was warned by police to get inside his house.

The bears, he said, remained in his tree for another hour until what is believed to be their mother appeared and they took off.

The family of four spent the day meandering in and out of back yards looking for food and attracting the curiosity of those walking and driving through the normally quiet part of town. A soccer game scheduled to be played at Richard Park was relocated as a precaution.

“Needless to say the bears caused some entertainment to our family, especially my boys who were running from one window to another and snapping pics of them,” Amores said.

The N.J. Department of Fish and Wildlife, which was alerted of the bear sightings, never made it to West Caldwell, Paris said.