New Jersey Man Survives Bear Attack
Wildlife Officials Are Searching For The Bear
May 23, 2003 7:14 pm US/Eastern
TRENTON (CBS) A West Milford man was bitten by a black bear Friday afternoon, a day after hundreds of people attended a hearing on plans for New Jersey's first bear hunt in 33 years.
Rob Skrypek suffered bites to his hand, forearm, upper arm, back and head after his dog attacked a 300-pound female bear that strayed into his back yard with a yearling, according to West Milford Police Chief James Dykstra.
Skrypek, who tried to help his dog, was in good condition at Morristown Memorial Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Gale Chandler.
The dog, a Yellow Lab, while injured, is expected to recover.
Earlier this week, police in Sparta shot and killed a bear after it swatted a 2-year-old boy, leaving the toddler with a bump on his head. The bear, a 4-year-old female, was shot and killed by police.
Wildlife officials were searching Friday night for the bear that attacked Skrypek. They planned to kill the animal, a practice wildlife officials have adopted to deal with aggressive bears. They do not plan to kill the yearling.
The incidents in the north Jersey towns of Sparta and West Milford are fuel for a hot-button topic in New Jersey. In March, the Fish & Wildlife Game Council proposed a six-day bear hunt, scheduled for Dec. 8-13, to control the growing bear population. A hunt was proposed three years ago but was called off when then-Gov. Christie Whitman intervened.
A final vote on the latest proposal is set for July 8, four days after the public-comment period ends.
A heated public hearing by the game council Thursday night drew 300 people, and nearly half of them spoke about the hunt proposal. Supporters noted that bear sightings have increased in recent years, as have reports of bears wandering into residential neighborhoods.
But animal rights activists and other critics — many clutching teddy bears — said New Jerseyans need to coexist with bears, not hunt them.
Thirty years ago, there were fewer than 100 black bears in New Jersey. The Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the Division of Fish & Wildlife, estimates there are now 1,500 to 3,000 bears. Most of them occupy the northwest part of the state, but officials say bears are moving into Mercer, Middlesex and Bergen counties.
"They're right up to the edge of New York City," said DEP spokesman Jack Kaskey.
New Jersey's bear population rebound has made headlines steadily over the past three years and has caught the eye of documentary producers. The cable TV network Animal Planet has a production under development, and one has been done by National Geographic Explorer.
Public expression on the topic has taken many forms. Animal activists have demonstrated at the Statehouse and sent letters and about 100 stuffed bears to Gov. James E. McGreevey. The plush toys have been passed along to women's shelters and hospitals.
Animal activists and other critics question a hunt's effectiveness in reducing bear-human encounters and suggest the state's bear population figures have been inflated to justify a hunt.
Activists also complain that state officials have not done enough to pursue hunt alternatives. Doris Lin, a volunteer at the Bear Education and Resource Group, said the organization supports the state's exploration of bear contraception and a recently enacted law against feeding bears.
Wildlife and environmental officials say a bear hunt is only part of a larger strategy to manage the bruins' rebound.
The state is working with the Humane Society of the United States on the pilot contraceptive program, and the DEP has federal approval for testing on captive bears. But any contraceptive use on bears in the wild is several years away, according to DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell, who believes the population data support a limited hunt.
The DEP also has stepped up efforts to educate the public, spending $500,000 over the past three years on bear-awareness promotions, including public service announcements and presentations to state residents.
Campbell has taken a high profile on the matter, leading some public presentations himself and reserving the authority to halt a bear hunt if he finds it necessary. He also requested that there be no fee charged for bear-hunting permits.
Campbell said he felt it was important "to include significant independent oversight, so some of the issues that undermined public support in the past wouldn't be an issue."
Campers should be alert for signs of fresh bear activity, and they should be able to tell the difference between Black Bear dung and Grizzly Bear dung.
Black Bear dung is rather small and round. Sometimes you can see fruit seeds and/or squirrel fur in it. Grizzly Bear dung has bells in it, and smells like pepper spray!
wrong bear? oh, sorry! hehe! . . .