Escaped animals · Kearny

The bear that kept Kearny indoors

OCR reviewed

After escaping from a traveling animal exhibitor, a bear was blamed for nighttime raids on Kearny henhouses and left residents discussing an organized hunt.

The report

A newspaper brief reported that a bear had escaped from an unnamed Russian man who passed through Kearny while exhibiting the animal. In the nights that followed, residents blamed the bear for raids on poultry enclosures. People reported tracks in soft ground, and barking dogs were followed by the discovery of another damaged henhouse the next morning.

The article described residents avoiding unnecessary trips after dark and said some people who did venture out carried weapons. If the bear remained free, the community expected to organize a coordinated search.

Location and dating note

Although the OneNote page files this clipping under Newark, the article itself repeatedly identifies Kearny. The visible clipping gives September 25 but not a year. The year 1906 therefore remains an inference from the notebook title rather than a fully verified publication date.

Names, places, and source fields

People
The exhibitor is described by nationality but not named; no resident is named.
Places
Kearny, New Jersey. Newark appears only in the notebook’s filing title.
Publication
Unidentified newspaper; headline “In Fear of Hungry Bear.”
Date
September 25; likely 1906, not independently confirmed.

Source

  1. Unidentified newspaper, “In Fear of Hungry Bear,” September 25, year and page not visible in the clipping. OCR reviewed against the notebook image.

The copyrighted clipping was used for research and is not reproduced. This page is an original summary.