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Originally Posted by briansnat

I'm in West Milford about a mile from where that happened. That morning I heard a bear outside my BR window. The snorts and snuffling sounds were unmistakable. By the time I got out of bed and went to the window it was gone, but a look out the front door showed nearly every garbage can in view on its side, with the garbage strewn around the street. It was definitely a bear I heard. A few hours later that bear was shot not far away. I wondered if it was the same one.

The comments section in that article is frighting. Most of those posters don't realize that once a bear learns that the inside of a home means food, no home is safe. And I have to laugh at "the bears were here first" argument. They were virtually extinct in NJ for much of the 20th century, while these homes were being built. And bear were also there first in NYC, Newark, Paterson, etc. I bet "the bear were here first" crowd might be singing a different tune if bear were wandering the streets of NY, Newark, etc. killing pets and breaking into homes.

Over the past dozen years they have been seen wandering Wayne, Totowa, West Orange and Little Falls. Hardly bear country. There are simply too may bear for the available habitat. Fortunately or unfortunately, many wild animals have adapted to living in close quarters to humans. I grew up in Passaic in the 60's and 70's and never even saw a freakin' rabbit. Now there are deer living there. I was shocked to see one run past my parent's house about 10 years ago.

I'm in WM now too. I moved up here about a year ago. So far I have only seen one bear but according to my neighbor they are in our area quite frequently during the day. I couldnt agree more with your post.