Viral bear ‘Pedals’ will no longer charm us by walking around on two legs. Because someone shot him
- 7 years ago
PICATINNY TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY — A bear made famous for frequently being spotted walking around on two legs has been killed by an unnamed hunter during the annual New Jersey bear hunt.
On his adventures through the forest, Pedals the black bear suffered an injured left paw, and lost his right paw entirely, so to move forward, he adopted a bipedal gait. Unfortunately, his human-like walking couldn’t protect him from the annual bear hunt, New Jersey’s first allowing the use of bow and arrows in nearly 50 years.
On October 10, Pedals was shot dead with an arrow to the chest. Observers at the checkout station claim his hunter had been bragging about wanting to kill Pedals for three years. Over the past few weeks, fans of Pedals had rallied support to have his life spared. More than 300,000 signatures were collected to have him relocated to a wildlife sanctuary, and roughly $22,000 was raised to have him moved, preventing his death.
This year, 549 bears were killed in the six-day hunt, and most of them walked on all fours. Some lawmakers don’t think any bears need to die to curb the growing bear population, and have introduced a new bill to see to it that their lives are protected.
In light of Pedals’ death, New Jersey Senator Ray Lesniak introduced “Pedals Law,” a state proposition to ban black bear hunting for five years. To continue to manage the bear population, a program of non-lethal control will replace the hunts. The bill would make it illegal to feed wild bears, and would require the use of bear-resistant garbage containers in bear territory.
On his adventures through the forest, Pedals the black bear suffered an injured left paw, and lost his right paw entirely, so to move forward, he adopted a bipedal gait. Unfortunately, his human-like walking couldn’t protect him from the annual bear hunt, New Jersey’s first allowing the use of bow and arrows in nearly 50 years.
On October 10, Pedals was shot dead with an arrow to the chest. Observers at the checkout station claim his hunter had been bragging about wanting to kill Pedals for three years. Over the past few weeks, fans of Pedals had rallied support to have his life spared. More than 300,000 signatures were collected to have him relocated to a wildlife sanctuary, and roughly $22,000 was raised to have him moved, preventing his death.
This year, 549 bears were killed in the six-day hunt, and most of them walked on all fours. Some lawmakers don’t think any bears need to die to curb the growing bear population, and have introduced a new bill to see to it that their lives are protected.
In light of Pedals’ death, New Jersey Senator Ray Lesniak introduced “Pedals Law,” a state proposition to ban black bear hunting for five years. To continue to manage the bear population, a program of non-lethal control will replace the hunts. The bill would make it illegal to feed wild bears, and would require the use of bear-resistant garbage containers in bear territory.