Black Bear Roaming Around Princeton Last Seen in Borough Wednesday Night

The bear shimmies up a tree in the cemetery across from the Princeton Public Library. Photo Credit: Henry Vega.

An adolescent black bear that wandered around Princeton most of the day Wednesday was last seen on Jefferson Road near Franklin Avenue at about 10 p.m. Wednesday night.

Police have not spotted the bear since then. The bear could still be in the Princeton area or it could have moved on during the night.

Representatives from the state Division of Fish and Wildlife decided Wednesday night not to attempt to tranquilize the bear while it was up in a tree in the cemetery across from the Princeton Public Library.

A crowd gathered around the cemetery to catch a glimpse of the bear. People were told to leave the area just before 8:30 p.m.

Officials described the three- to four-foot, 150-175 pound bear as a “teenage bear.”

Police have asked residents not to approach the bear and to call the police department immediately if they see it. Police also suggested that residents take in their garbage cans and bird feeders.

Police were alerted to the bear’s presence just after noon by a Plainsboro motorist who called in to report a bear sighting on the 400 block of Terhune Road near Governor’s Lane. The state Division of Fish and Wildlife was contacted, as were area schools, Sgt. Mike Cifelli said.

The bear was seen on North Harrison Street near Terhune Road in the afternoon and was later spotted wandering in the woods between Terhune Road and the shopping center, police said. The bear then made its way to Conte’s and the Princeton Hospital garage. Just before 7 p.m., residents spotted the bear in the cemetery near the library.

The sighting may explain why some residents in the Terhune Road area found their garbage strewn about in their yards yesterday.

For more pictures of the bear, check out the 6abc pictures taken from the videos of the scene. News helicopters were circling overhead all afternoon in order to get video footage of the bear. Following is a video clip of the bear from 6abc: