Officials Capture Black Bear in NJ, Experts Say Expect to See More

Fish and wildlife officials tranquilized a bear found roaming through a northern New Jersey neighborhood over the weekend in a sign that bear-sighting season is here.

The 175-pound male black bear was seen Saturday morning in Ridgewood, and may have been the same one seen in Hawthorne Friday night, though that couldn't be confirmed. It was set to be released back into the wild later Saturday.

Experts tell The Record that bear sightings pick up at this time of year as the bruins emerge from hibernating to look for food. Males usually roam 10 to 15 miles from their dens but can roam as far as 50 miles.

Last September another bear caused havoc in Ridgewood. The 400-pound bruin led police in a six-hour chase through residential neighborhoods before being shot out of a tree with a tranquilizer dart.

Bears have been spotted in all 21 New Jersey counties but are concentrated in the northwest part of the state. A state-sanctioned bear hunt focused on the northwestern part of the state has killed about 1,900 bears since 2010, leaving the population in that region at roughly 3,500, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.

Last month the DEP said bear-human interactions had increased 60 percent last year.

The state has proposed expanding the hunt in coming years.