newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Another voice has been heard growling in opposition to New Jersey’s bear hunt.

People often don’t enjoy waiting for the cable television people to fix their service, but a cable TV repairman met some unwelcome company on a job on Wednesday.

Dave Cornine, working for Cablevision, was in a Hopatcong residence basement when he suddenly heard growling noises. Upon investigating he found that he had awakened a 550-pound bear that had built a nest and was living there.

Cornine said to CBS News, "I think when I drilled the hole through the floor, I probably woke him up. I turned around with the flashlight and just freaked out. I threw my tools and ran out of the basement."

New Jersey Fish and Wildlife officials were called and tranquilized the big bear, who then ran from the basement. The officials chased the bear through the neighborhood in Hopatcong, and CBS New York reports it ran for about 45 minutes before succumbing to the drugs.

According to the New Jersey Herald, Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Ragonese said conservation officers did not kill the bear because it showed no signs of aggression.

Homeowner Frank Annacone, 85, told CBS New York he doesn’t usually lock his basement door and the bear probably pushed it open. He said he rarely goes to his basement. In the end, Cornine did actually repair Annacone’s television.

Ragonese believed the bear had been living in the man’s basement before the six-day bear hunt began on Dec. 6. The bear had brought in twigs and leaves to the basement to create his own bear cave.