ENGLEWOOD

'Not every day you see this': bear running around downtown Englewood

Hannan Adely
NorthJersey.com

Visitors to downtown Englewood got a surprise visit Saturday afternoon from a black bear that walked down busy Engle Street before running up into the trees.

Responding at around 2 p.m., police said they found the cub in a tree behind the Englewood Diner at 53 Engle St., said Sgt. Shawn Ensenat. 

Police briefly shut down traffic on Engle and Dean streets as the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife tranquilized and removed the bear. The Englewood Fire Department raised the bucket on its truck to assist in getting the bear out of the tree.

Trevor Warwick, a Connecticut resident who oversees DARCARS Lexus of Englewood, was visiting the dealership when the bear appeared, and he watched the incident unfold over hours. 

"It's not every day you see this," he said. "We were just sitting there in the showroom and we saw the bear walking down the street. It's crazy." 

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A black bear is spotted in a tree in downtown Englewood on Saturday, June 18, 2022.

The bear was going back and forth on the street climbing trees, "and people were going back and forth to watch it," he said.

The bear sighting comes we after a bear caused a stir climbing a pole outside Palermo's Bakery in Wyckoff. Bear encounters have been on the rise, the New Jersey Herald reported.

"Black bears by nature tend to be wary of humans and avoid people," according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's webpage.

Some "common-sense safety tips offered by the NJDEP include never feeding or approaching the bear, remain calm, making the bear aware of your presence by speaking in an assertive voice, singing, clapping or making other noise."

Hannan Adely is a diversity reporter covering Arab and Muslim communities for NorthJersey.com, where she focuses on social issues, politics, bias and civil rights. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: adely@northjersey.com 

Twitter: @adelyreporter