$15K Raised for Walking Bear to Have New Home, But Wildlife Center Still Needs N.J. Approval

Pedals the walking bear is about to stroll right into a new home, thanks to thousands of dollars in donations from complete strangers.

The beloved neighborhood black bear from Oak Ridge, New Jersey, with an injured front paw and missing another, has had enough funds raised on his behalf to live out his days in an upstate New York wildlife sanctuary.

Pedals has been known around the neighborhood for more than a year, but a recent video taken by neighbors and posted to YouTube showing the bear walking upright across a couple front yards spurred a GoFundMe page for the wounded bruin.

Titled ‘Getting Pedals The Help He Deserves,’ the fundraising page initially aimed for $10,000 to be raised for Pedals to be transported to, and housed in The Orphaned Wildlife Center in Otisville, New York. The sanctuary estimated it would need between $15,000 and $18,000 to properly build an enclosure for Pedals, which would be next to the other 12 bears currently living at the center.

As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, just five days after the page was established, $15,045 had been raised by 410 donors.

While the funds have been raised and the Center is on board with the project, it must first receive approval from the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. As of Tuesday, the government agency had responded to the Center, but results of the communication were not yet made public.

The Center sent a letter to the Division of Fish and Wildlife, outlining its request.

The letter follows:

We have a deep respect and admiration for the work of the NJ Fish and Wildlife Division.

We appreciate you taking the time to read this email and would very much appreciate a chance to speak with you in person about this issue.

The bear that has commonly become known as “Pedals” has been an ongoing discussion in local towns and communities and recently it has become a nationwide discussion, trending on social media and people from all over the world discussing the condition and issues this bear has in trying to survive. We recognize that he did survive last year’s winter and that it is your belief that he would be able to manage another one. We would like you to consider allowing us to help him survive that winter by bringing him to our sanctuary. The Orphaned Wildlife Sanctuary currently has 12 bears on the premises and we have cared for bears for more than fifty years. We are extremely well versed in their behavior and their needs.

We didn’t make this offer to help lightly. We studied the videos, we discussed a plan, we reviewed our sanctuary to work out a suitable environment for him, before we offered or committed to trying to help.

We do not want to have any ill feelings or hostility in regards to this. We simply feel that this bear is too thin going into winter, and he would benefit from some assistance. We would not expect F&W to absorb any of the cost of the relocation, vetting, tranquilization or capturing. We would welcome and appreciate your expertise and assistance, but we are willing to accept all, or as much of that responsibility as you are willing to give us.

The reality of the situation is that he is in people’s yards. He is in their fields where their horses are, he is surprising dog walkers out for an evening stroll with their dog. This is not a good situation for any community.

At the Orphaned Wildlife Sanctuary we have over 100 acres to work with to find him a proper habitat. We can prepare an enclosure and a den for him where he does not have to use his front legs to eat or climb (for food, or for sleep). We can provide medical care to see if there is a chance that the one arm he does have could possibly be repaired.

We do NOT like to see once wild animals “caged” or trapped. We agree with you that this is NOT the ideal situation for any wild animal and we want to assure you that at the Orphaned Wildlife Sanctuary the animals MENTAL and EMOTIONAL needs are just as important as their physical ones. It isn’t enough to capture a bear, put him in a cage and say “we did good”. That isn’t doing good and that isn’t what we intend.

Can you please open up a dialogue on this with us?

We would very much appreciate the courtesy to be heard on this issue and to discuss this further with you.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Orphaned Wildlife Sanctuary

The video of Pedals walking on two feet in Oak Ridge can be seen here: