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  • more on bears

    Today, an email post from NY-NJ Trail Conf had a piece: Bear Tips for Hikers: Don't Run. Know what to do when you meet bears on the trail. see: http://www.nynjtc.org/content/bear-tips-hikers

    The article claimed that "bear sightings have been reported in every county in New York and New Jersey". As far as I know, there have not been bear sightings in NYC's 5 counties, nor out in Long Island. Maybe bare but not bear!

    Unless they're counting zoo bears--in which case they are giving wrong advice. NYC's central park zoo will be home to Betty and Veronica, 2 Grizzlies, who are currently up at the Bronx Zoo. Gus the long time resident polar bear passed away a while back. So from what I understand in dealing with different types of bears, if you decide to jump their pen, you should play dead and not be acting like a big, loud, noisy fool. Here's a NY Times story on these bears:


    I live in Manhattan but our family has a 25 acre woodlot in northwest NJ. We’ve seen numerous black bears—with and without cubs, at least 1 a year for past several years now. Almost all take off when spooked by loud noise-I have an industrial style air horn (used by subway track workers for signaling trains, it's LOUD!). All except for one bear--who woke me up at dawn after using the camper I was sleeping in as a back-scratcher. Repeated blasts from the air horn didn't seem to faze this bear, it took a while before he decided to wander off. A few years earlier, a huge mama bear with 3 cubs paid our site a visit, also early in the morning. I saw them first and called to my wife and 2 children to take a look (from small cabin window also on the grounds). Mama bear heard us, got up and started walking downhill away from us with the cubs. I decided to give them a toot good-bye with the air horn. Big mistake, the 3 cubs shot up a tree as fast as squirrels ,and mama bear turned around and stood tall--with a look like--was that necessary, we were leaving. Wow. I chilled on the air horn and in a minute, the cubs apparently calmed and came down from the tree. Mom settled down and off they went away from the rude human guests in their woods! The cubs were so cute with those big upright ears--but we have a real healthy respect for our neighbors.

  • #2
    Originally posted by City Slicker Hiker View Post
    The article claimed that "bear sightings have been reported in every county in New York and New Jersey". As far as I know, there have not been bear sightings in NYC's 5 counties, nor out in Long Island. Maybe bare but not bear!
    Not even 4 days after this post: Black Bear Cub Found Dead in Central Park

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    • #3
      Originally posted by DSettahr View Post
      Not even 4 days after this post: Black Bear Cub Found Dead in Central Park
      "The black bear's body shows signs of trauma"

      I knew it, that bear was mugged! You can't go walking in Central Park at night in a fancy fur coat.

      Strange case. Where's Mamma? Dumping doesn't sound too likely. Odd.

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      • #4
        Pretty incredible and a bit sad. Some of the over-hyped news feeds report that bears (except for zoos) had been eradicated from Manhattan for hundreds of years, maybe 400. In my mind, no plausible explanation except that someone had deposited the bear cub in the park, most likely already dead. Was the early bear-hunting season a factor?--did someone bag a mama bear, only to discover a orphan cub that they decided to keep, but then discovered that they couldn't? Was someone trying to raise a pet and failed miserably? was it a weird Santeria voodoo ritual?--finding ritually slaughtered animals, usually chicken or goat, is unfortunately not unheard of. Rather bewildering and a bit upsetting, no matter the circumstances.

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        • #5
          No doubt an inter-dimensional traveler from a parallel universe in which Europeans have not yet ravaged the New World. Unfortunate that it happened to arrive here directly in the path of an oncoming NYC taxi.
          Scooting here and there
          Through the woods and up the peaks
          Random Scoots awaits (D.P.)


          "Pushing the limits of easy."™

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          • #6
            Apparently it was hit by a car. I notice the article is more concerned about animal abuse then how it managed to get into the heart of Manhattan. Unless it took the E train I'm guessing it arrived the same way anacondas arrived in Florida.


            A necropsy shows a bear cub found dead under a bush in New York City's Central Park was likely hit by a motor vehicle and wasn't the victim of animal cruelty.

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            • #7
              My earlier speculation aside, TV news in NYC this morning reported that the cub died from blunt-force trauma, likely from a vehicle of some sort. If that's that case, then the cub road-kill was then relocated to Central Park by someone or some group. As to why, who knows?

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