Essex Co. police shoot, kill bear following grandma and grandkids in nature reserve in NJ
MILLBURN, New Jersey (WABC) -- New Jersey police shot and killed a bear on Monday after the animal followed a grandmother and her grandkids in a nature reserve in Millburn.
Anne and her grandchildren, ages 2 and 4, were on the Fairy Trail in South Mountain Reservation when they spotted the 120-pound male bear.
"We turned around and he started to follow us," she said.
Anne says the bear wasn't aggressive, but was following them for about five minutes. She eventually called 911.
Joe Covino was by Locust Park when he saw a guy run out.
"He was like, 'There's a bear, there's a bear, people are running out of the park.' And I was like, are you kidding me? He said, 'No, no I'm serious,' and he just kept going" Covino said.
South Mountain Reservation stretches more than 2,100 acres, nearly 2.5 times the size of Central Park.
"They ran into a bear and they were stuck. The bear wouldn't let them pull out," Essex County Sheriff Armando B. Fontoura said.
The sheriff says one of the responding officers just received wildlife training six months ago for these types of situations.
There have been multiple bear sightings recently in New Jersey.
Last week, a black bear was spotted in the backyards of Vanliew Avenue in Millburn. In May, reports of a wandering bear in Essex County prompted a local school district to cancel all outdoor activities out of an abundance of caution.
According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, there have been a total of 338 reports of bear activity in 2024 as of May 21.
Though the responding officers attempted to get the bear to return to the wooded area of the reservation, the animal began approaching them.
"It was coming at them, kept walking toward them, and it wouldn't go away," Fontoura said.
For everyone's safety, the officers then shot and killed the bear.
"He got close enough that the officers felt at that point they had no choice but to take him out," Fontoura said.
Though she is sad for the bear, Anne is grateful that no one got hurt.
"It was unfortunate, but I also felt good that I felt safe with the officers," she said.
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