Bear Wanders Through Lawrence Township Yards

A large black bear has been wandering around the southern half of Lawrence Township for most of the day today (Tuesday, July 12), according to township police who have been keeping a close watch on the animal.

“We’ve had multiple sightings of the bear throughout the day,” police Sgt. Mike Yeh said. “We’re monitoring him to make sure people don’t approach him and he doesn’t approach them.”

He said the township has advised the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, but the state’s policy is not to take action unless a bear poses a threat to the public or becomes stranded or trapped.

This bear, Yeh said, has not exhibited any aggressive behavior. “We’re just letting it do its thing,” he said.

Yeh said the bear was first spotted about 6:30 a.m. in the area of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) and Darrah Lane East. About 7:05 a.m., he said, the bear was observed in the backyards of several homes in the Colonial Lakelands neighborhood.

Glenview Drive resident Carol Bastian got an up-close look at the bear.

“I heard the dogs next door barking non-stop about 7 a.m. My dogs went out and were barking as if something was wrong out back. I immediately went outside and saw them looking across the yards, still uncontrollably barking. That’s when I noticed the BIG black bear looking through the fence at the neighbor’s small dogs,” she said.

“I immediately called my neighbor to get his dogs in and then I called the police. I walked to the front of my house and at that exact time the bear was in front of my front porch walking to the neighbor’s yard,” she said.

Moments later, her neighbor arrived home. “He was getting out of his car. I told him a bear just went into his yard. He noticed it behind his holly bush, ran in his house for his camera and it moved down a few more houses. I didn’t see it after that,” Bastian said. “The police were here within minutes – all over the neighborhood – alerting all the dog walkers and joggers to go home because there was a bear in the neighborhood.”

Other neighborhood residents with small children said they were cautioned by police to keep their youngsters inside as a precaution.

Yeh said the bear headed in a southerly direction along Glenview Drive, but the flow of traffic along Whitehead Road apparently discouraged the animal from continuing that way. The wayward bruin turned around and heard north, making an appearance along Hopatcong Drive, he said.

Later, about 2 p.m., a worker at the state Department of Transportation facility on Brunswick Pike, just north of Darrah Lane East, spotted the bear on the other side of Brunswick Pike heading up Allen Lane, Yeh said.

He said police officers went around that neighborhood cautioning people.

The bear was next spotted wandering behind a home in the 100 block of Franklin Corner Road. A few minutes later, under the watchful eye of police officers and Lawrence Township Animal Control Officer Christine Buck, the bear wandered across the parking lot of an office building at the corner of Franklin Corner Road and Princeton Pike.

The bear then disappeared into the woods, heading in the direction of Green Acres golf course. But it changed direction yet again, crossing Franklin Corner Road and then passing through the parking lot of the Princeton Pike Office Park at 3131 Princeton Pike before disappearing into the trees.

“There’s a lot of people out and we’re just trying to stay ahead of it to keep pedestrians safe,” Yeh said.

For more information on black bears in New Jersey, visit the state Division of Fish and Wildlife website.

See Also:

May 18: Black Bear Spotted in Lawrence Township, Princeton Township This Morning

April 30: