Pedals (died October 2016,

New Jersey, United States New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware R ...

) was an

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...

(''Ursus americanus'') that walked upright on its

hind legs A hindlimb or back limb is one of the paired articulated appendages (limbs) attached on the caudal ( posterior) end of a terrestrial tetrapod vertebrate's torso.http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/hind%20limb, Merriam Webster Dictionary-Hind ...

due to injuries on its front paws. After videos of the bear were posted on the internet, more than 300,000 people signed a petition to move the bear to a wildlife sanctuary. Pedals appears to have been killed in October 2016 in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

's first sanctioned

bow and arrow The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles ( arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was comm ...

hunt in four decades. During the hunt, which also included muzzle-loading rifles, a total of 562 bears were killed.

Fame

Pedals was first spotted in 2014 in

Oak Ridge, New Jersey Oak Ridge is an unincorporated community located along the border of West Milford Township in Passaic County and Jefferson Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07438. ...

. The bear walked upright on its hind legs due to injuries on its front paws. The bear's appearance spurred debate and discussions. Videos of Pedals'

bipedal Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...

walking were posted to the internet and he was described as an "internet sensation". Officials initially warned that the videos may have been a hoax. Over 300,000 people concerned with Pedals' welfare signed a petition written by Lisa Rose Rublack to relocate the bear to the Orphaned Wildlife Center in

Otisville, New York Otisville is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 969 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York– ...

. Supporters donated $22,000 to a fund created by Sabrina Pugsley to move the bear to the sanctuary to avoid the possibility of it struggling to survive in the wild. New York officials opposed the transfer of Pedals to the sanctuary. Pedals was being monitored by the

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staff o ...

's Division of Fish and Wildlife, which asked residents to report sightings by calling a hotline. In 2016, the Division asked the public to help with any sightings because the bear had not been seen since the previous

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

Death

Pedals' internet fame led Angi Metler, director of the Bear Education and Resource Program, to believe he would be targeted by bear hunters. In October 2016, reports of Pedals being killed by a hunter received widespread attention. On October 17, 2016, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced they believed Pedals had been killed during the officially sanctioned hunt. The October 10–15 hunt was New Jersey's first sanctioned

hunt since the 1960s. During the hunt, which also permitted muzzle-loading rifles, a total of 562 bears were killed. In response to the killing, State Senator

Raymond Lesniak Raymond J. "Ray" Lesniak (born May 7, 1946) is an American Democratic Party politician, who served in the New Jersey State Senate from 1983 to 2018, where he represented the 20th Legislative District. Before entering New Jersey's upper house, t ...

introduced a bill dubbed "Pedals' Law" that would ban black bear hunting in New Jersey for five years. In December 2016, a hunter filed a defamation lawsuit in Morris County Superior Court alleging he was falsely accused on social media of being Pedals' killer, suffered death threats, and had his personal information published.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Video of Pedals using the bear's bipedal gait.
2014 in New Jersey 2016 animal deaths 2016 controversies in the United States Ethology Individual animals in the United States Individual bears Individual wild animals

Fame

Death

See also

References

External links