An upright bear walking through a New Jersey neighborhood has become an Internet sensation once again after the animal was caught on video by residents in Oak Ridge this week.
NJ Advance Media reported Wednesday that the black bear, nicknamed "Pedals," has often been seen walking on his hind legs, likely because his front legs are injured, Kelcey Burguess of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
told NJ Advance Media. Burguess said the bear may have been hit by a vehicle at some point.
The bipedal bear was last seen in West Milford on Dec. 21.
That was until Monday, when Oak Ridge resident Joey Esposito saw the bear in a neighbor's backyard where he was mowing the lawn,
reported ABC News. Esposito told the network he looked up while taking a water break and there he was.
"Who is on her property?" Esposito told ABC News said he asked himself, before it dawned on him: "That's the bear."
Esposito said he ran into the house and grabbed his smartphone to start recording. The bear leisurely entered the backyard and walked toward him.
Fans of the bear raised more than $22,000 on a GoFundMe page in 2014 to get him moved to the Orphaned Wildlife Center, but last October the New Jersey Department of Fish and Wildlife decided that Pedals should stay where he is and did not need any assistance.
A video of the bear has been viewed more than 942,000 times.
Additionally, Pedals appears to have plenty of fans and followers on Twitter.
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