A bear cub was found dead in Central Park early Monday morning, leading authorities to wonder how and when it got there.
The bear, about three-feet long with black fur, was found under a bush on the west side by 69th Street and West Drive at about 9:45 a.m. by dog walkers, authorities said. The baby bear had lacerations to the side of its body, police said.
The dog walkers alerted Central Park Conservancy staff, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Kaledin.
“This is an extremely unusual and bizarre situation,” Kaledin said. “How and when it got here is mystery.”
There are no similar bears in the Central Park Zoo and the bears are not native to the park, Kaledin said. The bear is not from any zoo in the city, police said.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will perform the necropsy, police said.
The incident is under investigation by the NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Squad.
This bear is not the first wild animal to be found in an odd place around the city. In May, a large whale was found dead, floating in the water off the coast of Brooklyn. It appeared to have been hit by a cruise ship and was suffering from blunt force trauma.
In August 2013 a small, gray shark was found dead on a Queens-bound N train. And in January 2013 a dolphin died in the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn.
