Bear Killed After New Jersey Home Invasion, Cubs Rescued: Report

Police had to put down a mother black bear that invaded a home in New Jersey over the weekend, but state wildlife officials and a bucket truck operator were able to rescue the animal’s three orphaned cubs, according to published reports.

Officers shot the female bear after it made its way into a home in a wooded neighborhood in West Milford Sunday and ransacked the place, reports The Bergen Record. Officers were forced to kill the animal because it was no longer fearful of people and was a potential threat, state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Ragonese said.

“When a bear enters a home, it’s a bad day for a bear,” Ragonese told the Record.

The bear ran from the house after being shot and didn't die immediately. Officials told the Record later found two cubs clinging onto their mother's body and a third that had climbed about 50 feet into a nearby oak tree.

Authorities called in a tree service owner to help get the third bear on Monday. After some maneuvering, the owner's son was able to pull the cub from the tree. 

“The cub kept trying to scoot away, but he managed to net him,” the tree service owner told the Record. “He was only a little guy.”

All three cubs have been placed with with someone who rehabilitates bears.

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