West Side Rag
  • TOP NEWS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT
West Side Rag
No Result
View All Result
SUPPORT THE RAG

Search the site

No Result
View All Result
Get WSR FREE in your inbox
SUPPORT THE RAG

DEAD BEAR CUB FOUND IN CENTRAL PARK NEAR WEST 69TH STREET

October 6, 2014 | 2:27 PM - Updated on June 5, 2022 | 11:30 PM
in CRIME, NEWS
25

bear cub

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.

Share this article:
SUPPORT THE RAG
guest

guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

25 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
ws
ws
10 years ago

Super weird. Could it be a prank gone wrong?

0
Reply
Sally Smile
Sally Smile
10 years ago
Reply to  ws

Are we sure the bear wasn’t hit by one of those speeding Spandex Ballet cyclists?

0
Reply
ursus arctos
ursus arctos
10 years ago

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.

0
Reply
Aj
Aj
10 years ago
Reply to  ursus arctos

I agree like Florida… Prolly not on same scale…

0
Reply
ursus arctos
ursus arctos
10 years ago

Just wanted to also say that that is a very fine illustration of a bear cub.

0
Reply
Aj
Aj
10 years ago
Reply to  ursus arctos

You had me cracking up thank you

0
Reply
Nathan
Nathan
10 years ago

Can we find some way to blame this on scofflaw bikers speeding around the park?

0
Reply
ursus arctos
ursus arctos
10 years ago
Reply to  Nathan

By this evening, someone will be along to blame de Blasio.

0
Reply
Derek
Derek
10 years ago
Reply to  ursus arctos

He is dropping all of our animals…

0
Reply
whatsupduck
whatsupduck
10 years ago
Reply to  Derek

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.

0
Reply
michael
michael
10 years ago

If it was a brown bear would anyone have noticed or even cared? This is what happens with Republican budget cuts people.

0
Reply
yogi
yogi
10 years ago
Reply to  michael

If the cub was a black bear, expect a march in Central Park by Al Sharpton.

0
Reply
Ric Kaysen
Ric Kaysen
10 years ago

Secret breeding and repopulation program to curb the increase in muggings.

0
Reply
Cato
Cato
10 years ago

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.

0
Reply
webot
webot
10 years ago

Does a bear die in the woods?

0
Reply
whatsupduck
whatsupduck
10 years ago
Reply to  webot

If it does, does it make a sound?

(What a sad, awful story.)
Rest in peace, Boo-Boo.

0
Reply
DMH
DMH
10 years ago

Oh my goodness – what a strange and sad story. Glad that NYPD is investigating thoroughly.

0
Reply
james
james
10 years ago

wow, who would have thought all we needed was a dead bear cub to bring some humor and civility to the WSR comments section!

0
Reply
Aj
Aj
10 years ago
Reply to  james

You’re unfortunately right.. Also My first comments ever actually

0
Reply
Mike
Mike
10 years ago

Does anyone remember something like this happening BEFORE deBlasio became Mayor?!?! I think that BEARS mentioning.

0
Reply
Al
Al
10 years ago
Reply to  Mike

omg… this cracked me up… my first comment ever also and I’ve been reading this for years.

0
Reply
Lucien Desar
Lucien Desar
10 years ago

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.

0
Reply
Cato
Cato
10 years ago
Reply to  Lucien Desar

That’s one of the biggest problems with living in this city — you can never get a taxidermy when you need one.

0
Reply
ursus arctos
ursus arctos
10 years ago
Reply to  Cato

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

0
Reply
Independent
Independent
10 years ago

How many more incidents like this will it take before we start hearing a call to arm bears?

0
Reply

YOU MIGHT LIKE...

700-Pound Pigeon Floats Along the Hudson River
ABSURDITY

700-Pound Pigeon Floats Along the Hudson River

July 8, 2025 | 2:47 PM
West Side Kids, Beloved UWS Toy Store, Set To Close Permanently After 44 Years
NEWS

West Side Kids, Beloved UWS Toy Store, Set To Close Permanently After 44 Years

July 8, 2025 | 9:12 AM
Previous Post

MAN ATTACKED AND ROBBED IN CENTRAL PARK AS ROBBERIES DOUBLE

Next Post

WEEKEND MAYHEM: GANG VIOLENCE AND LATE-NIGHT ASSAULT

this week's events image
Next Post
CRIME NEWS: ATM-SKIMMING AT 7-ELEVEN, BIG RISE IN BIKE CRASHES, MOTORCYCLE THEFTS

WEEKEND MAYHEM: GANG VIOLENCE AND LATE-NIGHT ASSAULT

POETRY HOUR: COLUMBUS AVENUE LAMENT

POETRY HOUR: COLUMBUS AVENUE LAMENT

BEAR WAS HIT BY CAR, STATE INVESTIGATORS SAY; BUT WHODUNIT?

  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • NEWSLETTER
  • WSR MERCH!
  • ADVERTISE
  • EVENTS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • SITE MAP
Site design by RLDGROUP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • TOP NEWS
  • THIS WEEK’S EVENTS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • ABOUT
    • OUR STORY
    • CONTRIBUTORS
    • CONTACT US
  • WSR SHOP

© 2025 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.