Hudson County Bear Still Roaming; State Declines To Tranquilize

NORTH ARLINGTON, NJ — So where is that now-infamous Hudson County bear? After it poked around a few backyards and climbed a tree in Kearny, the bear was last sighted walking through North Arlington before midnight Monday night.

Kearny police — who said the bear moves fast and could be "aggressive" — called a state Fish & Wildlife employee to the backyard Monday. But when the state worker arrived, he or she declined to tranquilize the bear. A spokesperson for the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection, which Fish & Wildlife falls under, said the bear should be left to its own devices to follow "wooded corridors to a more suitable habitat."

"Residents of North Arlington, please be advised that at approximately 11:15 p.m. on Oct. 12, the police department was alerted to a sighting of the black bear," said North Arlington police. "The sighting was in the area of Belmount Avenue/Riverview Avenue. Please take necessary precautions. If you see the animal, do not approach and immediately alert the police department."

The bear, which witnesses say stands about 5'8'', was seen in Kearny backyards on Webster and Madison avenues Monday afternoon. It then climbed a tree behind a house on Webster Avenue, where it appeared to take a snooze for several hours.

Witnesses said it looked like a teenage bear, bigger than a cub but not a full-sized adult.

Dozens of people gathered near the backyard to catch a glimpse of the bear, and police set up a perimeter, warning people to stay back as the bear had previously been reported to have been slightly aggressive. Police had their guns drawn as they kept an eye on the bear.

Kearny police requested help from the state-run Fish & Wildlife, calling them before 4 p.m. Monday to come to the backyard. More than five hours later, at 9:15 p.m., a Fish & Wildlife employee arrived on Webster Avenue, and refused to tranquilize or remove the bear, said Kearny police.

Instead, the Fish & Wildlife expert recommended the bear "find its own way home," Kearny police reported.

Larry Hajna, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), said the following:

"The DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife advised local authorities to give the bear that has been sighted in the Kearny and Harrison areas an opportunity to find suitable habitat on its own, in accordance with policy. An evaluation made late yesterday (Monday) determined the bear should be given an opportunity to follow wooded corridors to more suitable habitat."

Tracking the bear in Hudson County:

• The black bear was first seen at 4:00 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 near the Kearny WalMart. That is an area surrounded mostly by marshy Meadowlands and swamps.
• A few hours later, around 10:30 p.m., residents notified the Harrison Police department that a bear was seen around the Red Bulls soccer arena in Harrison.
• 3:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 11 Harrison police got a 911 call that a bear was seen on the roof of a building at 1 Cleveland Avenue. To help get the bear off the roof, Port Authority police were called in, but before they could get there, the bear climbed down to street level and ran off towards the Passaic River.
• Monday afternoon: Seen on Webster/Madison Ave. in Kearny. Climbs into a tree very close to a house on Webster Avenue, and stays there for several hours.
• 11:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12: Seen walking on Belmount Avenue/Riverview Avenue in North Arlington. The last reported sighting.

Gov. Murphy just outlawed New Jersey's bear hunt, deciding last week that 2020's hunt would be the last.

Gov. Phil Murphy: 2020 Bear Hunt May Be NJ's Last (Oct. 5)