Bear hunt started Monday morning and the ghost of Pedals still lingers

The extended bear hunt in October came and went. As of Monday morning the next round of bear hunting began in New Jersey. As sure as flowers bloom in spring you know protesters were out there. Maybe in greater numbers than ever. Why more passion this time?

Because of an injured bear who learned how to walk upright and got along just fine in the wild. There were occasional sightings of this bear, an occasional video, and eventually a nickname. Pedals. Pedals the bear became a celebrity for some who are prone to the magic of anthropomorphism. A Facebook page was made. An effort was started to get Pedals into a sanctuary. Wildlife experts, knowing more about these types of things than people who name bears, tried in vain explaining to the advocacy group that when an animal adapts to its circumstances as Pedals did and can take care of itself just fine, you don't want to take the animal out of its natural habitat. The group of course didn't want to hear any of that.

Then came the extended bear hunt in October. While it was never proven 100% because no DNA was ever taken from Pedals and the bear was never tagged, it is believed this bear was one of hundreds killed in the hunt. Outrage grew. One hunter who was mistakenly identified as the one who took down Pedals received death threats. Now it is said that the protesters are more determined than ever to stop the controlled bear hunt in New Jersey.

Janine Motta, programs director for the Bear Education and Resource group, said, "Our numbers have always been high, but the killing of Pedals has caused our support to increase. Here was one particular bear that people may have known, seen or just followed on Facebook. They felt a connection with Pedals. When he was killed, it became personal for those who loved him, and that translated into a greater awareness of the hunt in general and the realization that all bears who are killed are important."

The much needed hunt will continue either until Saturday or until 30% of the 197 tagged bears are killed. So you see protesters? They're not trying to eradicate the entire species. It's a limited hunt. They are trying to control the growing bear population. Now maybe go rent Disney movies where the animals talk and sing and binge watch until the hunt is over.

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