State wildlife officials trapped and released a 726-pound male black bear in Passaic County. The bruin is the heaviest ever handled in New Jersey.
Fish and Game Council member Len Wolgast tells The Star-Ledger of Newark the bear will only get bigger because it only recently left its winter den.
The bear was trapped along with another bruin after West Milford residents complained that the animals were getting too close.
Officials tried to condition the bears to fear humans before releasing them back in the wild. Officials shot rubber buckshot and firecrackers to scare the bruins.
