DEAD BEAR CUB FOUND IN CENTRAL PARK NEAR WEST 69TH STREET
A dead bear cub was found Monday morning by a bush in Central Park around 69th street and West Drive. Police are considering the area a crime scene. (Outside of the zoo, Central Park is not bear habitat.)
The Wall Street Journal reported:
“A Central Park Conservancy worker found the deceased cub under a bush near W. 69th St. and West Drive Monday morning, a New York City Police Department spokeswoman said.
The employee called 911, and officers from the 22nd precinct responded, she said. The NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Squad is now investigating the matter, she added…
The bear cub was about 3 feet long and apparently not from the zoo, since no bears are missing, a law-enforcement official said. The creature suffered some trauma and has lacerations on its side.
The Times says the bear was discovered by an Upper West Sider walking her dog around 9:30 a.m. on Monday.
“The mouth was open and it looked bloody,” said Florence Slatkin, 79, who found the bear carcass while walking her dog, a Chihuahua mix named Paco, with a friend near her Upper West Side home. “At first, I thought it was a raccoon.” She said her friend’s dog first drew their attention to the bicycle before they noticed the dead animal by one wheel.
Another man said he thinks his dog sniffed the bear on Sunday night, and said the officer told him the bear may have been dragged to the spot; “they don’t at this moment think the bear wandered there on its own.”
The bear’s body is being sent to a state pathologist.
Update: The AP reports that the bear was found resting on a bicycle. “The cub’s head was on top of the back bicycle wheel, Slatkin said.” Police dusted the bike for prints.
Image via wikimedia.
Super weird. Could it be a prank gone wrong?
Are we sure the bear wasn’t hit by one of those speeding Spandex Ballet cyclists?
My guess is an illegal “pet” that was being kept elsewhere and was dumped either dead or dying in the park. There have been other cases of people keeping “exotic” animals in the city in awful conditions.
At least the bear’s suffering is over.
I agree like Florida… Prolly not on same scale…
Just wanted to also say that that is a very fine illustration of a bear cub.
You had me cracking up thank you
Can we find some way to blame this on scofflaw bikers speeding around the park?
By this evening, someone will be along to blame de Blasio.
He is dropping all of our animals…
Back in the good ol’ days of Koch and affordable city living, we had bears and bearhugs on every street corner.
We also had bloods and crips, but that’s for another thread.
If it was a brown bear would anyone have noticed or even cared? This is what happens with Republican budget cuts people.
If the cub was a black bear, expect a march in Central Park by Al Sharpton.
Secret breeding and repopulation program to curb the increase in muggings.
Yet more proof that we must, must, must immediately end the tragic and inhumane industry of subjecting these poor defenseless animals to giving bear-and-buggy rides in the Park area.
Does a bear die in the woods?
If it does, does it make a sound?
(What a sad, awful story.)
Rest in peace, Boo-Boo.
Oh my goodness – what a strange and sad story. Glad that NYPD is investigating thoroughly.
wow, who would have thought all we needed was a dead bear cub to bring some humor and civility to the WSR comments section!
You’re unfortunately right.. Also My first comments ever actually
Does anyone remember something like this happening BEFORE deBlasio became Mayor?!?! I think that BEARS mentioning.
omg… this cracked me up… my first comment ever also and I’ve been reading this for years.
Someone probably hit the bear somewhere upstate and put it in their trunk thinking they might use it for taxidermy and then changed their mind once they got back to the city. Unfortunately they disposed of it in a terrible way.
Although I wish it was the case that we have an emerging bear population in Central Park that we didn’t know about.
That’s one of the biggest problems with living in this city — you can never get a taxidermy when you need one.
New York State officials now confirming Lucien’s hypothesis.
The cub was hit by a car and did not come from the park.
https://twitter.com/tatertatiana/status/519599253165838337
How many more incidents like this will it take before we start hearing a call to arm bears?