Bear Tries Entering Hopatcong Home's Kitchen, Sightings 'Concern' Cops

For the second time in a week, a young bear has tried to enter a Hopatcong home to find food, police said.

Police responded to a home on Dilbert Roady Thursday for a report of a bear trying to enter a woman’s kitchen, Lt. Thomas Kmetz said. The homeowner said she walked into her kitchen and saw the bear’s head coming through a window’s screen that was placed above a garbage can, Kmetz said.

The bear broke the screen in order to get to the garbage can, but was interrupted by the woman’s arrival and fled, Kmetz said.

Police who arrived at the scene said the bear could have fit into the window if he continued further.

Three police officers responded to the area and found the bear, a juvenile, in a neighboring yard, Kmetz said. Rather than killing the animal, the officers “conditioned” it by shooting it with rubber buck shot and followed it until it went into the woods near Lakeside Avenue, Kmetz said.

Kmetz said there have not been reports of bears entering garages and homes in the past, and the recent incidents are a “concern.”

“We are asking the public to be careful where you are placing your garbage,” Kmetz said. “Also look for bears when you bring your garbage out.”

Pictured: Hopatcong Police Office Schultz follows the bear into the woods. Photo Courtesy Hopatcong Police Department.