spectr17
06-24-2003, 10:25 PM
Mating time brings more encounters
June 18, 2003
BY JIM LOCKWOOD, Star-Ledger Staff
Looking for love in all the wrong places.
That sad signature song line from the movie "Urban Cowboy" could have been sung yesterday for three country bruins.
In the span of just a few hours, bears on the prowl for mates kept wildlife officials hopping in northwest New Jersey:
In Vernon, a female bear was shot and killed by authorities after it tried to break into a garage and a porch.
In neighboring West Milford, a male and female bear were caught in a back yard -- the female in a trap -- tranquilized, then conditioned to avoid humans and released.
"It is the time of year ... it's mating season," said Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Fish and Wildlife. "It was a female bear in the trap in heat, and the agitated bear on the outside was a male trying to get to the female."
The two were captured on the same property where another bear was shot by a homeowner on June 5. In the aftermath of that incident, a trap was put on property of Patrick and Kristine Flynn after Patrick Flynn shot a bear that had ventured onto the family's porch.
Wildlife officials tracked down the injured bear the next morning and killed it. Last Thursday, they charged Flynn with unlawfully injuring a bear, which carries a fine of $100 to $300, and confiscated his 12-gauge shotgun.
Yesterday, Kristine Flynn told police and state wildlife authorities that she spotted five bears around her property, including the two that were trapped and tranquilized.
"There are more bears in my neighborhood than ever," she said. "I told them (state wildlife authorities), 'I'm happy you're here right now. I know you guys think I'm a lunatic.'"
The first bear trapped on the Flynns' property was a 219-pound sow. She attracted a 560-pound male, which was pacing outside the trap, agitated he couldn't get at her, Makatura said.
The female bear in the Barry Lakes section of Vernon was killed after "there was a report of a bear trying to break into a garage and get into a porch across the street in a separate dwelling," Makatura said.
Authorities set a trap and caught a cub. The nearby sow was determined to be the problem bear, and she was shot and killed by wildlife authorities. The cub was released.
Yesterday's incidents were the latest in a growing list of bear encounters in northwest New Jersey. The state's bear population -- estimated at 1,350 to 3,300 -- is growing, and the number of bear sightings and reports of aggressive behavior are increasing.
Last Wednesday, a 200-pound female bear crashed through the screen door of a Vernon home and ransacked the kitchen while a woman and her two young children retreated to a bedroom. The woman called police and the bear was shot and killed as it tried to get out of the house through an open window.
On May 20, Sparta police tracked and killed a 150-pound female black bear after it swiped at a 2-year-old boy sitting on his front step. Three days later, a West Milford man was mauled by a bear as he tried to break up a fight between the bear and his dog. Wildlife officials later said the bear was attracted to the fenced yard by improperly stored garbage.
In the June 5 incident at Flynn home, two bears were attracted to the area by the smell of cooking pork chops, and one, a male, came up onto the family's porch.
Flynn told police he shot the bear in self-defense from a distance of 10 to 15 yards. However, a necropsy determined the large male bruin was shot in the rear from a distance of 15 yards, or 45 feet, meaning it was "retreating" from the porch, authorities said.
Kristine Flynn said yesterday that her husband plans to fight the summons at a municipal court hearing next month because the state exaggerated the distance. Fifteen yards would not be possible in her yard because the bear would have been over a cliff, she said.
"He's not pleading guilty to something he absolutely did not do," she said. "If the summons said 15 feet, he would say, 'Fine,' and plead guilty. If they brought it down to the correct footage, he wouldn't argue it."
Jim Lockwood can be reached at jlockwood@starledger.com or (973) 383-0516.
June 18, 2003
BY JIM LOCKWOOD, Star-Ledger Staff
Looking for love in all the wrong places.
That sad signature song line from the movie "Urban Cowboy" could have been sung yesterday for three country bruins.
In the span of just a few hours, bears on the prowl for mates kept wildlife officials hopping in northwest New Jersey:
In Vernon, a female bear was shot and killed by authorities after it tried to break into a garage and a porch.
In neighboring West Milford, a male and female bear were caught in a back yard -- the female in a trap -- tranquilized, then conditioned to avoid humans and released.
"It is the time of year ... it's mating season," said Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Fish and Wildlife. "It was a female bear in the trap in heat, and the agitated bear on the outside was a male trying to get to the female."
The two were captured on the same property where another bear was shot by a homeowner on June 5. In the aftermath of that incident, a trap was put on property of Patrick and Kristine Flynn after Patrick Flynn shot a bear that had ventured onto the family's porch.
Wildlife officials tracked down the injured bear the next morning and killed it. Last Thursday, they charged Flynn with unlawfully injuring a bear, which carries a fine of $100 to $300, and confiscated his 12-gauge shotgun.
Yesterday, Kristine Flynn told police and state wildlife authorities that she spotted five bears around her property, including the two that were trapped and tranquilized.
"There are more bears in my neighborhood than ever," she said. "I told them (state wildlife authorities), 'I'm happy you're here right now. I know you guys think I'm a lunatic.'"
The first bear trapped on the Flynns' property was a 219-pound sow. She attracted a 560-pound male, which was pacing outside the trap, agitated he couldn't get at her, Makatura said.
The female bear in the Barry Lakes section of Vernon was killed after "there was a report of a bear trying to break into a garage and get into a porch across the street in a separate dwelling," Makatura said.
Authorities set a trap and caught a cub. The nearby sow was determined to be the problem bear, and she was shot and killed by wildlife authorities. The cub was released.
Yesterday's incidents were the latest in a growing list of bear encounters in northwest New Jersey. The state's bear population -- estimated at 1,350 to 3,300 -- is growing, and the number of bear sightings and reports of aggressive behavior are increasing.
Last Wednesday, a 200-pound female bear crashed through the screen door of a Vernon home and ransacked the kitchen while a woman and her two young children retreated to a bedroom. The woman called police and the bear was shot and killed as it tried to get out of the house through an open window.
On May 20, Sparta police tracked and killed a 150-pound female black bear after it swiped at a 2-year-old boy sitting on his front step. Three days later, a West Milford man was mauled by a bear as he tried to break up a fight between the bear and his dog. Wildlife officials later said the bear was attracted to the fenced yard by improperly stored garbage.
In the June 5 incident at Flynn home, two bears were attracted to the area by the smell of cooking pork chops, and one, a male, came up onto the family's porch.
Flynn told police he shot the bear in self-defense from a distance of 10 to 15 yards. However, a necropsy determined the large male bruin was shot in the rear from a distance of 15 yards, or 45 feet, meaning it was "retreating" from the porch, authorities said.
Kristine Flynn said yesterday that her husband plans to fight the summons at a municipal court hearing next month because the state exaggerated the distance. Fifteen yards would not be possible in her yard because the bear would have been over a cliff, she said.
"He's not pleading guilty to something he absolutely did not do," she said. "If the summons said 15 feet, he would say, 'Fine,' and plead guilty. If they brought it down to the correct footage, he wouldn't argue it."
Jim Lockwood can be reached at jlockwood@starledger.com or (973) 383-0516.