Woman Videos Bear Cooling Off in Her Pool

Dana Strus did a doubletake when she looked out her window Tuesday and saw a black bear in her yard splashing around in her pool. 

“Nobody’s going to believe me,” thought Strus. 

So before reaching for the phone to call police, the North Caldwell resident grabbed her camera and stepped out onto her patio to video and photograph the wading bear so that people would know she's telling the truth.

Strus, who is pregnant and due to deliver her second child Saturday, said she had just gotten back to her house on Willowbrook Drive with her 3-year-old daughter around 2 p.m. when she spotted the cub. Strus said it was most likely because of her pregnancy that she remained so calm. She said she was aware of the bear for about five minutes before she called police.

Before police arrived, the black bear, estimated to weigh about 100 lbs., had hopped back over the fence into a neighbor’s yard and made its way onto the road. Police lost track of it as it headed down Willowbrook.

Strus was one of two residents to report the bear to North Caldwell Police Tuesday, the other called from Grandview Avenue earlier in the day.

“We have urged the residents just to call us and not to feed it,” said North Caldwell Police Chief Mark Deuer. “There’s not really much we could do about it. It’s not doing anything dangerous.” 

Deuer also asked that residents not leave food or garbage outside and to keep small pets indoors.

The chief said he has been with the department for 13 years and this is the first bear sighting he is aware of in recent memory.

“Hopefully it will go back to where it belongs, it could be anywhere,” Deuer said, adding that it possibly lives in Hilltop Reservation.

The chief also said it could be the same bear which was seen digging through garbage cans in Fairfield Monday. A bear sighting was also reported in Cedar Grove this week, while a earlier this year.

According to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, black bears are the largest animal living in New Jersey, and their population is on the rise. Concerns over their growing presence led to a controversial last December.

Black bears are thriving and have been spotted in all of the state’s 21 counties. The Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Black Bear Activity report says that 16 counties, including Essex, reported sightings from January to June 2011. A total of 808 bears sightings were reported in the first six months of the year, compared with 1284 for the same period in 2010.

Things were pretty much back to normal Wednesday—Chief Deuer said no other sightings were reported and Strus told Patch she went swimming in her pool.

The homeowner said she was on the lookout but she is used to seeing wildlife in her yard, including deer, turkey and even a fox, although this was the first time she saw a bear.

“It’s crazy,” she joked. “Now I don’t have to go to the Turtle Back Zoo.”

Residents who spot the bear in North Caldwell are asked to call the non-emergency number, 973-226-0800. For more information on black bears in New Jersey, visit the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife.

This story was updated at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20, 2011.