I am not a bear hunter, bear activist, or bear expert. In fact, I am neutral on the subject. But what I am is a resident of Highland Lakes. There has been a lot of discussion recently about bears in this publications Letters to the Editor column. I have lived in Highland Lakes for almost six years. During this time, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of bear sightings especially in the last couple of years. I personally see one or two bears per week in my neighborhood. This is not including the bear sightings that I get on my security cameras almost daily. The NJ Fish & Game Department has a list of bear sightings from residents who take the time to call them in. If everyone living in Sussex, Morris, Passaic, Warren, and parts of Bergen County were to take the time to call in every bear sighting, the phone at NJ Fish & Game Department would never stop ringing. As mentioned in a recent letter from another writer, some of these bear sightings are of the same bear. But there are a lot more bears this year than in the past. I have seen a mother with two small cubs and I know of another mother with five small cubs in a nearby neighborhood. One more thing that I would like to mention here, there is nothing “cute” about an 800 LB black bear.
Gregg Kobylarz
Highland Lakes