Fuzzy Wuzzy 1998-2002
A Gay Opinion 11/03/02
by R. A. Melos
A black bear, estimated to be four years old, was murdered in the New Jersey
township of North Brunswick, on Saturday November 2nd. The bear, a tagged animal,
wandered into the condominium development of Society Hill on the Northbound
side of Route One, and attempted to enter the rear door of one of the townhouses.
The owner of the townhouse chased the bear by shooting his 12 gauge shotgun
at the animal, missing it. (So much for the hunter safety rule of not discharging
a weapon in the vicinity of houses).
The bear was later spotted eating out of a dog food bowl by the backdoor of
another home in the development. Officials where called in, and the semi-defenseless
animal was tracked and gunned down on a common area lawn between several townhomes.
So what did the bear do that warranted its murder? It wandered into a populated
area.
Okay, so the area was populated. At one time, prior to the development of the
townhouses and condominiums, the population of that particular area was bear,
deer, raccoon, groundhog, squirrel, geese, and other wild animals native to
the area. Then one day, as the saying goes, "man entered the forest."
I'm sure, upon the first sighting of man in the forest, one bear turned to another
and said "there goes the neighborhood." Okay, so they growled instead
of spoke, but the general sentiment was the same. They knew, as most animals
which have encountered man knew, the moment human beings venture into your part
of the forest, trees are coming down and townhomes are going up. It really only
means one thing to the animals. Relocation.
Now with the overly inflated New Jersey real estate market, I'm sure the black
bear in question was not looking to do harm, but was trying to find a nice three
bedroom towncave for under $250,000. The bear's only crime was its species.
Had it been annoyingly human in its look, pawing at a backdoor, while I'm sure
someone in the area very well might've taken a shot at it just the same, it
would not have been murdered in cold blood by ruthless government agents, it
would have been captured and transplanted to another less human populated area.
Unfortunately, human compassion was not to be granted this fuzzy creature. Instead,
on a cold November afternoon, this animal of the wild, which was forced from
its den by the human element in the area and heavy construction on the Route
One corridor, was shot down like a human pumping gas in the Maryland or Virginia
area.
Man has still not learned to co-exist with man, so it doesn't surprise me to
see human beings wielding their superiority over every other species. It does
disappoint me, and it makes me wonder how the parents in North Brunswick Township
are spending their Sunday?
Are they explaining to their children how Smoky being gunned down in their backyard
was for their own protection, and how it was just an animal and not to give
it a second thought? Maybe they've popped a video in for the kiddies to watch?
Something like, oh say, Bambi? Perhaps they've deposited the children in front
of the tube to watch Animal Planet? Or are they ignoring the slaughter and planting
themselves in front of a television watching football?
I'm not saying the bear wasn't a threat to the human population, anymore than
the human population was a threat to the bear. All I'm saying is, there were
other options to be considered, and there could've been a better outcome for
the bear.
It is not known at this time if the bear left behind a family, but I'm sure
the human element of the area will be very watchful come next Spring. Perhaps
by then calmer heads will prevail, and animals won't have to fear trigger happy
humans.