400-Pound Bear Suspected of Attacking Livestock Killed In Chester

CHESTER TWP. – When it came into sight, just 12 yards away, it didn’t even look real.

It wasn’t so much long as it was bulky and round, with a massive skull. And, without hesitating, Will Jimeno took his shot.

The Chester resident and hunter took down a 384-pound bear last week during the annual New Jersey Bear Hunt, and may have also killed an animal believed to have attacked a donkey and a llama within a single week.

Jimeno, a former Port Authority officer widely known for surviving the collapse of the World Trade Center during 9/11 terror attacks while trying to save others, says he was keeping an eye on the hunting location for a few weeks, trying to track the bear.

See related: Black Bears Coming To An Area Near You

Like most hunters, Jimeno didn’t want to disclose his location, but said it was in an area with close proximity to where an aggressive bear may be wandering.

Jimeno was well aware of the recent reports about a donkey being attacked in a Chester Township backyard. The donkey was then dragged to the neighbor’s property and left in a swimming pool. He also knew about the attack on a llama on the southern end of Long Valley just a few days later. The donkey survived, but the llama did not.

“That donkey was 400 pounds,” Jimeno said. “You need a big, powerful animal to take down something that large. Whatever attacked it wasn’t a smaller, 200-pound bear. It had to be something bigger and stronger.”

See related: Bear Attacks Donkey In Chester Twp. Backyard, Cops Say

Jimeno, sitting at ground level, took his shot at the massive bear, killing it on the spot. More of a bow-hunter, Jimeno said his proximity to the animal wasn’t jarring, but knew he needed to act quickly when he had the chance.

“It didn’t look real,” he said.

The shot was fired late on Wednesday, Dec. 9, halfway through the week-long bear hunt. In the following days, as word spread of Jimeno’s get in the Chester area, residents and neighbors alike thanked him.

See related: Bear Fatally Attacks Llama in Long Valley

“This bear has been scaring a lot of people,” he said. “I’ve had residents come to me and say thank you and little kids say they were afraid to keep their windows open at night during the summer for fear a bear would try coming in the house.”

It’s not known for certain if the bear taken by Jimeno is the one responsible for the attacks on the donkey and llama, but “there’s a high probability that may have been the bear that went (after the donkey and llama),” said Chester Township Police Chief Tom Williver. “However, there is no definite proof either way. Time will tell.”

On Sunday morning, Williver told Patch another large black bear, estimated between 300-400 pounds, had been spotted by one of his officers in the area of Furnace Road.

Jimeno said he fully believes in the bear management program, and believes the harvesting is necessary to keep both the animals and humans safe in their respective environments.

The hunt, which ran from Dec. 7 to Dec. 12, culled 472 bears in an expanded territory throughout northern New Jersey. That’s the second-highest six-day total since 2010. For the first time in its history, the hunt is being expanded for four days, beginning Dec. 16, since only 18-percent of the 133 tagged bears were harvested.

See related: 472 Harvested Bears Not Enough, State Expands Hunt 4 Days

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said it wants to reach 20-percent and will expand the season for four days.

In 2016 the hunt will run during two separate weeks – one in October, and another in early December.

Photos Courtesy Will Jimeno