Dead Bear Rte 517 Allamuchy
Hi Does anyone have any information as to what happened to the dead bear that has been laying on the side of the road of Rt 517 south in Allamuchy ( in the area past Mattar's ) ? It has been there all morning, so sad to see, such a beautiful animal. Thank you in advance if anyone knows what happened.
just a thoughtI don't have any information, but I was slightly annoyed by so many people pulled over, taking pictures, and then leaving. Hopefully (and I am sure someone did) called the proper authorities. I wonder why it hasn't been picked up if you said it has been there all morning.
sunshinenj sunshinenj, we just called Hope NJ state police barracks, they said they were on their way to pick it up. I felt very sad when I saw it laying there. Hopefully they will get there soon.
I just drove by it myself on the way home. I'm amazed at how many people are out there with cameras taking very close up photos. They are causing traffic hazards just to get a look, it is pretty pathetic. Hopefully they will pick up the poor bear very soon. Very beautiful animal, so sad.
BrandyB Glad I'm not the only one absolutely appalled by the lookie lous. I couldn't believe how some people were driving and just pulling over to get a picture (some not even doing that but still driving and taking a pic). If it had been a deer, pretty sure it wouldn't have gained such notice. Hopefully it will be removed soon and that if it involved a car the driver is ok. So sad seeing it treated like a side show.
ladeevee Towns leave deer laying on the road for days, so not surprised they weren't quick to go pick up the bear.
botheredbyuu2 Is it still there? Anyone know how it died? If it was hit, I'm sure someone could make a nice stew out of it.
What is so wrong with taking a pix. of a dead bear? It has to alive to take a pix. Bet you looked when you went by. You don't always get a chance to see a bear that big and that close everyday. It is such waste of a beautiful animal, but that is life.
Bonk114 "I'm sure someone could make a nice stew out of it."
Would have made a nice rug too...
http://www.newjerseyhunter.com/forums/72-bear/184985-bear-didn-t-make.html
Mark Mc. 
ianimal 
Kevin Sweeney What's the big deal about taking pics ??? It was dead....I wasn't there i but really this is what bothers people???!!!!
Missrx Ur a pig bc you take a picture? I think the pig is the one that hit it and left.
Kevin- yes he/she is a pig. And will pay for it in some way. Anyway, try to have a nice day despite being a pig.
Maybe what ever happened to the bear was some kind of terrible accident, maybe not even involving a car or truck. Maybe if the was a person involved, they already reported it when it happened and they were told they did not have to stay there. The bear has been there since at least 7:00 this morning. I called Hope NJ state police a few hours ago, they said they were on there way (go figure). Finally maybe if the bear was hit by a motor vehicle, I'm sure it wasn't done on purpose and the person feels horrible. If it was a person who hit the bear I hope that they are okay.
Take it easy. I like bears and all wildlife. For me it is a damn shame that wildlife suffers because of people. Thank god there are people that feel the same and are not callous who gives a crap miscreants. Have a good day! I know I am.
jm62 A good day would prefer the person swerve to avoid the bear, thus running into a telephone pole or oncoming traffic and killing themselves or other people.
The person that hit is is a pig and will pay for it in some way??
well if someone did hit it with their car I'm sure the damage is enough to make "him/her pay".
Darwin Awww...you guys , so amusing. Why don't you go back to checking your ammo and seeing if you need to make a run to Cabelas or elsewhere. Don't worry about me or what I think.
That's a shame - my husband must have seen it right before it either got hit or died of other reasons this a.m. Very sad, hope it did not suffer.
Nature Lover I didn't see it on the way home so they must have removed it; thankfully they didn't let it sit there and rot as the one up by PV did a while back! It was a nice looking creature though.
Reggie Voter Reggie Voter, Thanks for posting that you didn't see the bear still laying there. Glad they finally came to pick it up.
Bonnie I've seen the Bear many times on my drive to client's homes today. The thought of stopping and taking a photo never crossed my mind. When I saw other people doing it I thought what a bunch of asses. What's the point? Why don't the bears get a turn out like that when they are hunted in our state ever year now. Oh by the way this year Fish and Game are letting hunters kill two bears each this year.
Quarno It appeared to be a nice looking bear. While I was thinking it would be removed in fairly short order, I certainly didn't begrudge those (saw 2 guys when I was passing by) who stopped to take a look, feel the fur... and think about bears.
How often do you get to do that?
Deer, on the other hand, are not worth a look nowadays. That is, unless they are fresh enough to convert into meat.
I agree that all life should be respected. It is a damned difficult thing to do if you want a certain standard of living and think too much.
jjmonth4 Does anyone know how the bear died?i was very upset when I saw a young guy put his foot on the bear for a picture.
"Deer, on the other hand, are not worth a look nowadays. That is, unless they are fresh enough to convert into meat."
You need a special permit to claim roadkill in NJ.
I believe it's free, but only applies to deer, so this bear would be off-limits (a shame since it likely just ended up in the landfill once the county took it).
I understand that people thought the bear was interesting to see but it was unsafe for them and other drivers to be running across the road for their photo opp. Several cars in front of me slammed in their breaks to avoid hitting people and cars that were stopping. Hopefully the photo seekers didn't cause another accident along the way.
When I went by there was about 6 cars pulled over and everyone was taking pictures with the bear. What I was appalled at was the traffic and people running across the street. One lady was holding a small child while getting her pic taken. In the other hand she had the bears head holding it up. It was a big bear too. Not a juvenile.
Per 911 Warren County Communications the animal in question was struck by a motor vehicle on Warren County Route 517 during the early morning hours of Sunday 4/19. Said animal has since been removed from County right of way.
SmokeyTheOtherBear People act like they never seen a bear before! C'mon we live in the fckn sticks. All these morons causing traffic issues & safety issues who don't know how to drive in the first place to snap a damn pic.. And you guys justify it because it's rare thing. Give me a Break!
Would it be ok if it had been a child? And ppl wanted pics of that? That doesn't happen every day so it should be ok right?? Hmmm "bear" that in mind for a minute...
SmokeyTheOtherBear, Thank you for letting us know exactly what happened to the bear. Yes I have seen many many bears alive since I have lived in the area for more then 20 years but I had never seen one laying dead (like it was posing on the side of the road) . I did not get out of my car just drove by twice to and from Hackettstown. Thanks for giving me some idea what happened. Also, I really do hope the person that either hit the bear or was hit by the bear is okay, not a good experience to have to remember or deal with.
"Would it be ok if it had been a child?"
What a ridiculous comparison. When a bird or squirrel drowns in your pool do you call 911 and perform CPR? On the flip side, do you just skim the child out with a net and throw them in the woods?
Most adults know there are different responses for different situations, and it's a bit tiring to see the "for the children!" excuse applied to everything.
The bear was hit around 6:30 am by a box truck that was white. The person who said this was right behind the truck. The truck did not even stop and kept on going so he was fine and I guess truck was too. What gets me is the women behind who saw this did not phone it in and also drove past. This is an amazing creature who we should respect. I placed flowers by him because I felt he deserved them. People who had the nerve to put their foot on him or go up to him with a bat or actually picked up his head to take pictures are so wrong. I must admit it was amazing to see the bear up close. His beauty, is some thing to respect. In the American Indian culture the bear is sacred. They worship him as well as other animals. As far as the people who say if it was a child would anyone stop of course they would. The deer who get killed people don't stop because most of the time they are all mangled. We have moved into their territory. They have no voice. Once again the authorities just give lip service and say they were coming to pick up. He was they from 6:30 am til 5:00 pm. That was sad. So we complain about traffic but they cause traffic by leaving him there all day. FINALLY the wild life and gaming can and got him. When I asked what they would do with him he told me the would take samples for biological information as well as a claw to find out DNA. He was tattoo so they have some information. It is illegal to take any of his body parts. So the guy who said well he would be worth 10k in China Town because they would cut him open and use all of his parts really did not have to say that. 90 percent of the people who stopped were saddened by it and the other 10 percent have negative things to say and do to him. Honestly people did what they felt they should do. A lot of people respected him. Some pet him and told him to RIP.
Lisa lomonaco I'm not sure why this was such a mystery...what other likely causes would there be for a dead animal on the side of the road?
Tracy 
5catmom People, we don;t know what happened to the bear. And so what if people stop to get a closeup picture? I drove by as well, and if i did not have work, i would've taken a close up too....With me and the bear. Which idiot would take a closeup picture with a live wild bear?
just coach Yes thanks Lisa. Much appreciated. And all- good to hear we feel the same about our animal brothers. The other day in Long valley I stopped to move a dead cat off the road after I drove by it morning and then afternoon . I do this for other animals if I can safely. One day, in Hardwick on spring valley rd 2 red tail hawks swooped down to take a dead possum off the road. I was happy they did so without getting hit. Have a wonderful day .
lol Tracy...I was thinking the same thing:)
Not sure why it would have been necessary for the truck that hit him to stop either? If the driver was ok and the truck was not damaged then all that would be needed would be a phone call IMO. What was he supposed to do? Go over to the bear to see if he was alright?
JRT There's a dead squirrel on Grand Avenue. Where are the flowers and thread for him/her?
emaxxman Made the local paper - click link below. CAUTION: There are pictures of the bear.
http://www.nj.com/warrenreporter/index.ssf/2015/04/black_bear_hit_and_run_not_ill.html#incart_river
Lisa Monaco, Thank you so much for your beautiful post. Have a good day today.
Lisa Lomonaco, Thank you so much for your beautiful post. I hope your day is a good one.
Beautiful pics. Poor thing. I'm not a fan of bears, but this poor thing looks so precious.
Cub? Looks small.
It may not be "illegal" to hit a bear and keep going, but morally the person should have stopped, checked it out and called the police. Maybe they did, we don't know.
droptine MORALLY?? !! That article is funny! Then is it morally right to not call for a deer? a squirrel? a cat or dog? Or maybe a bird? I have hit all these (but cat or dog) never called. Am I immoral? DON NOT THINK SO!
Someone called so that person is moral? If its not illegal to do so than it shouldn't be immoral IMO!
"What gets me is the women behind who saw this did not phone it in and also drove past"
who has the phone # in their cell phone to call to report a dead bear on the side of the phone? i wouldn't even know who to call let alone try to figure it out whiole i was driving.
well i now see the cause of the accident. from the picture there was an empty liquor bottle next to the bear. Clearly the bear got drunk and ran out into the road. what a stupid thing to do!
"who has the phone # in their cell phone to call to report a dead bear on the side of the phone? i wouldn't even know who to call let alone try to figure it out whiole i was driving."
darwin - They probably wanted them to call 9-1-1 because EVERYTHING is an emergency these days.
Calico696 LOL... Flowers for a road kill... You're going to see more of them dead on the side of the road if their numbers keep growing.
Metsman I'm glad I wasn't the first to say it Metsman and Missrx. You are correct Metsman, the number of bears becoming roadkill will increase since the population is growing quickly. In about 5 years, passing a dead bear will have the same effect as passing a dead skunk, squirrel, deer, groundhog etc.
A bear was hit in Blairstown last night, hope somebody got out there and got some flowers on it before it was picked up!
*please read the above with sarcasm!
Snow even though I understand the compassion of the person who left the flowers there are plenty of living people in your thing homes and hospitals that would greatly appreciate flowers to look at and feel like someone cared.
it's compassionate but unless we treat every animal that is roadkill the exact same way it just is strange. all life including animals should be revered. I have never seen flowers left for a deer.
Ha Calico696 when i first moved here i was walking my dog with my son in a stroller and bear came out of the woods and was 10' from us. First bear i ever saw up close, i didn't know what to do so i called 911, the operator was so annoyed with me and asked if the bear was attacking me, i told her no and should i wait until it does before calling back? She hung up on me. 2 hours later i saw a cop car drove by.
Thank you Lisa you are a true animal advocate. A breath of fresh air on this forum.
pampurr Since Lisa saw what was happening she put flowers on the bear. Maybe it was because all these people were doing photo ops? The bear needed a little compassion from everyone taking pics and not because he died. IDK.....Lisa could answer it better.
Darwin, if I were you I would have reported that 911 operator for hanging up on me. A 911 operator hanging up on anyone is outrageous!!! She should have been fired immediately!!
Tanya What County was that Darwin? If its Warren I would definitely have called the local PD and complained.
no she told me bears are common in this part of the state and this call was not an emergency. LOL how was i suppose to know im just a poor city boy
Jess Flowers. ..really...thats just ridiculous. ..embarrassing. ..and over the top...oh my god...lol!!
Sorry but when more and more people moved to this area and then the developers took over basically evicting our precious wildlife from their homes, this is why we see so much more bear and deer and some people have the audacity to find them to be nuisances.
To me it's regression not progression because once our natural resources and our wildlife is depleted....it's gone for good and there is no way getting it back.
This is one topic that infuriates and saddens me so much!
positive You moved to this area just like everybody else, positive. What year was your house built, adding to the infuriating real estate development - or does *your* house not count?
Or maybe positive just lives in the woods like a Native American. What a hypocrite.
Philliesman Except that the development of "their" habitat has done nothing to jeopardize their population. They keep mating and reproducing and yes, that becomes a nuisance.
I can only guess that positive may eat meat, buy gas, shop at grocery, clothing and home improvement stores. Sigh... Can't see the forrest through the trees.
"They keep mating and reproducing and yes, that becomes a nuisance."
People, no?
honey badger The house I bought was very old and not in a development. Hypocritical no..if I could I would live in the woods like a Native American and the Native Americans ate meat but had the upmost respect for nature. It's a matter of appreciating and respecting our beautiful surroundings and wildlife before it is lost and gone.
Obviously I can't express my opinion when it differs from some other posters without getting immature responses.
Call me naive but I was under the impression that most of us live here because of the natural beauty and wildlife and therefore respect it?
Teenie 
Absolutely !!! We moved here from essex county and every time I am out in the woods or just looking out my window I am thankful to be here.
Ahh so people that buy newer homes in developments are the problem. Got it. But wasn't the land under your old home once untouched?even if it was hundred plus years ago.
Look I refuse to allow this discussion to turn into a ridiculous argument. I blame the developers, the town's zoning ordinances and yes some of the buyers that find wildlife to be a nuisance and that includes anyone that moves to this area. Whether they live in an older home, apt or new home. It's about their mindset.
Oh, good job trying to twist around what I said, take your frustrations elsewhere..I will no longer feed into it.
End of discussion for me, but you can continue on if you'd like.
BTW- You calling me a hypocrite was totally out of line..you don't even know me.
"Look I refuse to allow this discussion to turn into a ridiculous argument."
You're about 88 posts too late.
Rebecka I don't want to get involved I this argument, but I have to correct one thing that Positive said:
"Sorry but when more and more people moved to this area and then the developers took over basically evicting our precious wildlife from their homes, this is why we see so much more bear and deer and some people have the audacity to find them to be nuisances."
Deer are not a nuisance because we have evicted them from their homes. They have become a problem for the opposite reason - we have created more and better deer habitat than has ever existed in this part of the world. The suburbs, lawns interspersed with patches of woods, is the ultimate deer habitat. It is far better deer habitat than the vast amounts of forest that would exist without people.
Indeed, there are now many more deer than ever existed in NJ historically, or prehistorically for that matter. Unfortunately these very high deer populations don't just destroy landscaping. They also destroy native plant communities that never evolved to withstand such intense browsing. That's why we're losing our native herbaceous and shrub layers, and why trees are not regenerating in many forests. This loss of understory affects the habitat quality for nearly every other forest species.
If you're going to understand anything about ecology in NJ, you need to understand this dynamic.
Gadfly Gadffy is 100% on the mark here but to those who see things only through the prism of emotion will never comprehend fact vs fancy.
gadfly is right ;
and in many of these threads we have detailed out how the deer herd is 300 % larger now than it was in 1600 - 1700's hundreds when the dutch started settling here in NJ.
sadly some emotionally based posters refuse to accept or even acknowledge simple facts.
there are many more bear around now today than there were in the 50's and 60's. This is due to the 'positive' influence of the NJ dept of fish game.
When i was younger and camping up at sunrise pond on top of the mountain we never even saw a bear, now there are several thousand of them roaming the hills all because of smart wildlife management policies.
and we are seeing eagles now, never saw them in the 1960's, this also can be credited to better wildlife management from the division of fish and game.
as people, and as human beings, we have as much right to be here as any other creature, we are part of the ecology of the planet. I am tired of the idea continually pushed by many that we don't belong here, that somehow we are 'invaders'. We are meant to be here and have as much right as any other animal to live and breathe.
BrotherDog "They also destroy native plant communities that never evolved to withstand such intense browsing. That's why we're losing our native herbaceous and shrub layers, and why trees are not regenerating in many forests. "
Come on, the forests look great with thick layers of nothing but pricker bushes (like the invasive Japanese Barberry effectively taking over the forests around here). Side benefit - they are great habitats for ticks with Lyme disease.
http://www.nj.gov/dep/njisc/Factsheets/j_barberry.pdf
http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/more-findings-on-the-link-between-japanese-barberry-and-lyme-disease/
I'ts quite simple, we see much more bear, deer, fox, etc. because they have less habitat and it will just get worse as development continues.
Gadfly, whether you are on the same page as me or not..I always respect what you have to say, since you are very knowledgeable when it comes to nature.
Comments about me being emotional is really getting old. Is there something wrong with feeling passionate about something? It doesn't mean I'm clouded by proper judgement and cognitive logical thinking.
How about you Marc Mc, you're passionate about guns..does your passion somehow discredit you're knowledge?
BD, you are very passionate about the bible, should I not take you seriously because some of your comments were heartfelt pertaining to the scriptures?
"we see much more bear, deer, fox, etc. because they have less habitat and it will just get worse as development continues."
We see much more wildlife in large part because their populations are *increasing* (or were until managed hunting brought them back inline - such as whitetail deer) to the detriment of their own habitat - as Gadfly described.
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/images/bear/bear_sightings_map14.jpg
http://www.nj.gov/dep/dsr/trends/pdfs/wildlife-whitetail.pdf
"Is there something wrong with feeling passionate about something?"
No, but passionate/emotional or not, your comments were hypocritical in that they decried others for making the *exact same* decision as you (moving into the area - obviously requiring constructed homes to do so).
If your over-development concern is so significant, what are you doing to solve it (i.e. *reducing* the human population and therefore the demand for housing)? If you have kids, isn't that just contributing to the problem since they'll need to buy their own additional houses in the future?
"How about you Marc Mc, you're passionate about guns..does your passion somehow discredit you're knowledge?"
I don't think anyone said passion discredits knowledge. If I said guns were icky and should be illegal (except for mine, of course) I would certainly expect to be loudly called out on such a statement.
nothing wrong with being passionate about something, but you keep mis-stating the facts, the deer herd is larger today than it was in the 1600's by at least 300%, you have so far not acknowledged that point. Loss of habitat? as gadfly has documented, the deer habitat has actually increased, not decreased. cultivated, landscaped acreage can support many more deer per acre than natural woodlands can, that's why the herd is so large now, it's because of the increase in deer habitat, not the loss
the black bear population has exploded into the thousands from a low point of (i think) about 50 back in the mid-1960's, (going from memory on this one, please correct me if i am wrong)
that's why we see them more often.
it would be good to acknowledge the valid facts in the discussion,
and to reiterate, since it may have got lost in the cloud of emotional passion; mankind, human kind, has as much right to be here as any other animal/creature. we are supposed to be here. we as humans are as much a part of the natural world as any other animal. and yes, i do believe part of our charge here on planet earth (or spaceship earth) is to take proper care of it. i think that's why we respect the native americans reverence for the natural wonders of the creation that are all around us. they took proper care of what they intrinsically knew were 'renewable resources', like proper forestry polices do today, and proper wildlife polices coming form the division of fish and game, taking good care of our renewable resources. that includes deer and bears as well as forests
btw, the native americans hunted both deer and bear, it was part of what they did. no one seems to have a problem with that.
i do agree that taking selfies by the side of the road with a dead black bear is a selfish act of self-aggrandizement that is ego-centric, and not something that a well balanced mature adult should be doing, but that's just my opinion on it, others may differ
BD- I guess you missed one of my comments above about Native Americans. I totally agree with you and we could learn a lot from them. They knew how to coexist with nature, survive by it and respect it.
Marc Mc- I guess you are right that I am a hypocrite for moving here so I guess many other people who moved here are hypocrites as well. Hypocrite or not..my primary concern is losing what we have.
I've no clue on what steps to take to help in preservation, but if anyone has some ideas it would be greatly appreciated.
BTW- both of you made some valid points.
I guess Yogi didn't make it across Rt 80 this morning. Mashed right before Exit 19 on the westbound (PA bound) lanes.
BearerOfBadNews Sorry to hear about all of these bears being hit on the highway but I was not part of their "mutual admiration society" this morning when I opened the kitchen door and saw the garbage cans emptied all over the side lawn. Last night was one night that we forgot to put the ammonia in the bags and tie three bungie cords around the cans to hold the lids down and they obviously noticed!
joyful No, A good day,.......He left his "calling card" too....Does a bear go in the woods? Not always!
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