OAK RIDGE, NJ – It’s the annual black bear hunt in New Jersey and there are no bears in the state more famous than Pedals, the black bear who captivated millions in the Garden State after he was spotted walking upright across neighborhoods.
Pedals gained national attention and through viral media after he was recorded walking like a human in Oak Ridge. At first, residents thought it was a prank, a man in a bear costume.
Later, state officials confirmed that Pedals was in fact a real bear and one they had been monitoring and tracking. Bears can walk upright. They just usually don’t. Pedals, state officials said, had injuries or deformities on his front paws that caused him to walk upright.
Pedals were tracked year after year, but in 2016, sightings of the popular bear ended. It turns out what made his rise to fame, might have also resulted in his demise.
He was reportedly killed during New Jersey’s bow-and-arrow hunt in 2016, the first in over four decades.
First spotted in 2014, Pedals became an internet sensation when videos emerged of its unique bipedal gait. Despite initial skepticism from officials about the videos’ authenticity, over 300,000 concerned individuals later signed a petition, initiated by Lisa Rose Rublack, urging relocation of the bear to the Orphaned Wildlife Center in Otisville, New York. New York authorities, however, opposed this move.
Efforts to assist Pedals included a fund set up by Sabrina Pugsley, which raised $22,000, aimed at moving the bear to a sanctuary. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish and Wildlife had kept an eye on Pedals and had even established a hotline for sightings.
They noted the bear had been absent since the previous Christmas.
Angi Metler, from the Bear Education and Resource Group, expressed concerns that Pedals’ fame would make him a target. In October, these fears seemed realized when news spread of a hunter allegedly killing the bear. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection later confirmed that they believed Pedals was among the 562 bears killed during the hunt.
Following the incident, State Senator Raymond Lesniak proposed “Pedals’ Law”, aiming to prohibit black bear hunting in New Jersey for the next five years.
A defamation lawsuit was filed in Morris County Superior Court in December by a hunter who claimed he was wrongfully accused on social media of being responsible for Pedals’ death.
This accusation led to threats against his life and the release of his personal details.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy had placed a moratorium on the annual bear hunt, but after populations grew and incidents involving bear and human encounters also grew, the governor lifted the ban.