Baby bear stops NJ Transit train (Opinion)

It only took a 70 pound bear to stop hundreds of tons of metal recently. On Sep. 28 in Fairlawn a commuter train was stopped to allow a baby bear that had climbed a tree at the Radburn station to be rescued. It was an all-out effort.

NJ Transit police closed off the station to keep the curious away. Fairlawn firefighters and police worked with Emergency Management from the borough and the DEP to tranquilize the bruin and bring it elsewhere. A sharp lookout for the baby’s mother had to be kept for obvious reasons.

Ironic that this comes so soon after Gov Murphy announced he would put a stop to bear hunts in Jersey after this upcoming season. His own wildlife experts put out a twelve page report a couple years back during his administration explaining firmly that the hunts were essential to control the bear population and non-lethal means did not work. Estimates are our bear population will double within 48 months of stopping the hunts.

What does that mean? More incidents like this. More bears looking for territory and wandering deeper into places they used to not go. More bears losing their fear of humans. More property damage. More incidents. Get used to it.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.