Bears make new home in Assunpink

MILLSTONE — The local woods are already home to two wayward bears.

A black bear removed from Woodbridge and another removed from Trenton now reside in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, according to Bill Kastning, the chairman of the township’s Planning Board, who also works for the state Department of Transportation.

Made up of 5,700 acres of land in Monmouth County, the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area is home to diverse habitats and wildlife. Parts of the reserve exist in or are adjacent to local municipalities such as Roosevelt, Millstone and Upper Freehold.

According to Kastning, the state Division of Fish and Wildlife Services received a phone call from the Woodbridge Police Department on May 14 stating that a category 3 bear had entered the town of Woodbridge in Middlesex County.

Category 3 bears are those just passing through an area from one wooded spot to another. Category 2 bears are labeled as such because they have reoccurred in an area and have caused more than $500 in damage. Category 1 bears are those that have frequented an area and presented a clear and present danger to that area, according to the Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Police confined the category 3 bear in Woodbridge to a wooded lot, Kastning said, and then requested assistance from the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.

“Fish and Wildlife personnel responded to the scene and removed a 164-pound male yearling bear that had been originally tagged as a cub in Kinnelon Township, Morris County, in March 2004,” Kastning said. “The bear was released at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area.”

On the same day, another category 3 bear entered Trenton. Trenton police confined it along the Delaware and Raritan Canal, and Fish and Wildlife personnel assisted in its removal. The bear, a 140-pound male yearling, was also released at the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, according to Kastning.