Black Bear Captured in Ridgewood Shot by Hunter in NY State

A young black bear that caused havoc over the summer when it roamed near a Ridgewood elementary school was killed across the New York border by a hunter last month, according to a recent news report.

Emergency personnel and state wildlife officials surrounded the 118-pound bear in a Bellair Road tree and tranquilized it last June, after the sighting forced students at nearby Orchard and George Washington Middle Schools indoors.

The bear was tagged and released into the wild at Ringwood State Park, according to a report by mycentraljersey.com. 

It had grown to 250 pounds and trekked 107 miles into New York when a hunter legally shot it near Albany on Nov. 23.

Had it remained in the Garden State, where the bear population has skyrocketed over the last four decades, it may have remained safer. The hunting season for bears in New Jersey begins Dec. 9 and lasts only six days, compared to a nearly three-month season in northern New York.

According to the report, the Lexington, NY, hunter who shot the bear plans on having it made into a full body mount.