Swimming bear chased out of Lake Parsippany

PARSIPPANY –

Perhaps looking for cool respite on an unbearably warm day, a mature black bear took a swim in Lake Parsippany Wednesday afternoon, evading rescue boats for several minutes before finally being herded from the water and chased into the woods.

Police quickly set up perimeters along Lake Shore Drive to keep residents safe and discourage others who drove to the area hoping to catch a glimpse of the animal. The Parsippany Rescue and Recovery unit also responded with two motorboats, one of which was launched into the water.

"They did exactly what we asked them to do, which was to herd the bear to a small area where we had officers waiting to shoot it with beanbags in hopes of chasing him into the woods," said Police Chief Paul Phillips. "That's exactly what transpired."

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Phillips, who was on the scene with Mayor James Barberio, credited Dive Captain Glen Foli and Vincent Lombardozzi of Rescue and Recovery for the successful water operation.

"We got the best-possible outcome," Phillips said. "Obviously public safety was our first concern. Even if the bear had just swatted a child or something, it could have been very serious. But also, we didn't want to hurt the animal."

"I was glad to see the bear return to the woods without incident," Barberio said. "The important thing is that the police, Rescue and Recovery and Animal Control did a great job in keeping everyone safe."

Animal Control Officer Chris Dikovics also responded to the scene.

Foli said the bear exited the water near the southwest corner of the lake and ran into the woods, presumably towards the eastern end of the Mack-Cali business campus.

One witness referred to the bear as "feisty."

"Guess I won't be sailing today," he said before the bear had been shooed away.

"The thing swam across the lake at least twice," Phillips said. "Now he is back in the wild, where he belongs."

Staff Writer William Westhoven: 973-428-6627; wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com.