Bear in New Jersey leads police on four-hour chase

Updated
Bear leads police on four-hour chase through New Jersey neighbourhood
Bear leads police on four-hour chase through New Jersey neighbourhood



A large black bear cub led police on a four-hour chase through a New Jersey suburb this week.

Westfield and Mountainside police pursued a bear and her cubs through the suburban backyards on Thursday.

Eventually the bear ended up at a day camp and the children had to be evacuated to a nearby building, reports Splash News.

From there, the bear crossed a busy highway into more residential neighbourhoods where it ate bird seed from under a bird feeder, then napped before heading into nearby woods.

Bear leads police on four-hour chase through New Jersey neighbourhood
Bear leads police on four-hour chase through New Jersey neighbourhood




Mountainside Lt Allan Attanasio said police were able to track the cub using a thermal imaging camera. He said the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife would not come to tranquilise and move the bear unless it climbed up a tree.

Speaking to nj.com, he said: "This does happen a few times a year, usually because after a cub breaks from its mother, it goes in search of territory to claim.

"But because there are other male bears who have claimed territories, cubs can get pushed farther out of the reservation."

Jogger Emily McDonagh said police stopped her and told her to go into the nearest house while they carried out a search of the area.

It is believed the mother bear went back into a wooded area next to the suburb.

Meanwhile, another bear was spotted in New Jersey on Monday - and was filmed walking around on its back legs like a human.

Ian Bohman from the suburb of Oak Ridge saw the animal walking around at 5.45am, and caught footage of it on camera.

Some people initially thought the video was a hoax, but animal experts have said it is real.

According to Fox News, some suggested it was a person in a bear costume.

But Tracy Leaver, the executive director of the Woodlands Wildlife Refuge, said she did not think that was the case, and suggested the bear had sustained injuries to both front legs.

Kelcey Burguess, a black bear biologist with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, said he most likely "got hit by a car."

Burguess said the bear is expected to make a full recovery, telling nj.com: "He's exhibiting signs of healing and becoming more mobile. He's going to be just fine."

See the video that's become an internet hit right here:






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