Posted on 09/12/2025 6:19:56 AM PDT by billorites
A pair of Cornell University students killed a 120-pound black bear before bringing the carcass back to their dorm where they skinned and butchered the remains, officials said Thursday.
The two undergrads who had "valid New York State hunting licenses killed a bear lawfully over the weekend," a Cornell spokesperson said in a statement.
The students then "brought the animal into a Cornell residence hall for processing on Saturday" before a "police report was made when a complaint was filed late Sunday night, but no charges have been filed,” the school official added.
An investigator with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which oversees hunting in New York State, visited the school on Sunday and found no code violations.
The bear was killed in the DEC's Region 4, which includes the following counties — Delaware, Otsego, Albany, Columbia, Greene, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Schoharie and Schenectady, according to the agency.
So the bear wasn't killed in Tompkins County, which includes Cornell University and the city of Ithaca. Ostego, three counties away to the east, would appear to be the area of Region 4 closest to Cornell.
The state agency confirmed school findings that "the incident does not present violations of the Environmental Conservation Law or DEC regulations."
Cornell's intercollegiate teams compete as the Big Red but with no official mascot.
However, fans have long embraced images of a bear and a person wearing a bear suit, decked out in Cornell gear, is a regular sight prowling the sidelines at Big Red football and basketball games.
A growling bear plays a star role in Cornell athletic imagery and bears are all over school memorabilia.
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