Social media accounts saying Pedals was brought by a hunter to a check station on Monday prompted a DEP response Watch video
Fears are mounting that "Pedals," an injured bear made famous by videos showing him walking upright on his hind legs, may be among the hundreds of bears killed during New Jersey's extended hunting season this week.
A Facebook page dedicated to tracking the progress of "Pedals the Injured Bipedal Bear" for more than a year shared a report that a hunter brought the bear to the Green Pond check station in Rockaway on Monday evening in the back of a pickup truck.
That touched off a firestorm of criticism and forced the state Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the bear hunt, to respond on Thursday to the unconfirmed report.
"During the October segment of the black bear season, the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife has received multiple requests for information regarding the status of an upright bear, based on hearsay accounts recently posted on social media," the state DEP statement said.
"While the Division appreciates the concern for the bear, it has no way of verifying the identify of any bear that has not been previously tagged or had a DNA sample previously taken."
Pedals, the injured walking bear, becomes internet celebrity
The social media claims posted on the Pedals page said that a hunter was specifically bragging about trying to kill Pedals for the past three years.
Pedals was first seen walking upright in the summer of 2014. The bear is missing part of his front, right leg and has an injured left front paw forcing him to adapt to walking on his hind legs, authorities have said.
A GoFundMe page was launched in August 2015 to get Pedals taken to a rehab center for injured animals. The public immediately took to the wounded animal and media outlets such as Fox News, ABC'S Good Morning America and NBC News ran stories about Pedals.
Kelcey Burguess, a black bear biologist with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, has said the bear most likely got hit by a car. Wildlife officials determined that Pedals did not require assistance and asked the public not to approach the bear.
Pedals was last seen in late June on a golf course in Oak Ridge.
The DEP statement on Thursday indicated that Pedals is not the only bear to have leg injuries.
"During this current bear hunt period, and in previous bear seasons, there have been multiple bears observed at different check stations with injured or missing limbs," the DEP said. "Upon arrival to check stations, bears are weighed and measured around the head. DNA samples are taken and a tooth is extracted to determine the bear's age. But without any prior scientific data taken from a bear, it is not possible to verify the identity of a bear that has been harvested."
Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.