A New Jersey family discovered that they had some cute but unwelcome visitors at their home. A pack of bears has made themselves at home living under the family’s front porch. Now that the cuteness factor has slowly begun to wear off, the family faces the dilemma of how to handle this situation.
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Pack Of Bears Is Living Under A New Jersey Family’s Front Porch
The NY Post shared details about this family’s adorable new neighbors. According to the outlet, a Mama bear and her four cubs “made themselves at home in an alcove underneath a New Jersey family’s porch.” Initially, the family was delighted by the discovery.
After all, it is not every day that you get to see adorable bear cubs up close and personal. However, as time goes on, that cuteness factor is beginning to fade — especially with the host of problems accompanying the pack.
The outlet shared that the pack of bears has been hibernating beneath the family’s porch for months. However, as the hibernation season comes to an end, the bears have begun to emerge. During this time, they began to explore their surroundings, including rummaging through the neighbor’s trash cans.
Additionally, the New Jersey family’s home has become somewhat of a tourist attraction. People are lining up and driving by the home, stopping to snag photos of the cute bear family. So between a protective Mama bear, cubs making a mess in the garbage, and strangers treating their home like a zoo, this family is at their wits’ end.
The Dilemma At Hand
Initially, upon discovering the bears, the family made a call to the New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife for advice. The department told them not to act immediately and that ” the bears should clear out soon — though they could return at any time.” However, as time goes on, it appears that these bears have no plans of leaving this family’s porch any time soon.
Here lies the dilemma. How can this family humanely remove these bears without causing a major disruption to them? Each solution faces its own set of obstacles. Homeowner Veronica O’Brien-Lim shared some of these obstacles with the NY Post.
She explained, “If [the NJDFW] haze the mother out, she would possibly run and abandon the cubs, and then they would have to find another sow to basically put them with. Or if they tranquilize her and catch the cubs, they would have to create a new den for them nearby.”
Fortunately for O’Brien-Lim, the bears ventured out on their own. While they were gone, the Department suggested she and her family board up their porch so that the bears cannot return to their makeshift den underneath of their porch.
