Pedals, the injured walking bear, has become one of the most famous bears since Yogi. He's all over the internet and social media as people have become sympathetic to his plight.
The black bear, who is walking on his two hind legs because of injuries that New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife officials believe resulted from being hit by a car, survived the winter and was recently spotted in Oak Ridge.
Before his most recent sighting, the beloved animal was last seen Dec. 21 in West Milford. There had been concern that the injured black bear wouldn't make it through the winter.
Since Pedal's last sighting, media outlets such as:
- iflscience.com
- The Huffington Post
- Inside Edition
- The Daily Mirror
- Fox News
- BuzzFeed
- Good Morning America
- NBC News
The wounded black bear was first spotted two summers ago in Jefferson Township in Morris County and his plight gained increased attention last August. He's missing part of his front, right leg and has an injured left front paw, authorities have said.
The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife has set up a page on its website devoted to Pedals, who has become quite the online celebrity with more than 13,000 followers on his Facebook fan page.
Joey Esposito sparked the latest craze about the black bear with the unique gait when he posted a video on June 20 on his Facebook Page showing the black bear making his way through an Oak Ridge neighborhood.
A YouTube video of the black bear is all over the internet.
Lisa Rose Rublack, of Bloomingdale, who secured nearly 310,000 signatures on a Care2 petition to save Pedal and have him placed in the Orphaned Wildlife Center in Otisville, New York, remains concerned about him despite the wide-spread attention.
"He's like a little phenom," she said. "He's causing so much commotion. But what people don't realize is that the bear needs help. He's not healthy. He can't defend himself. What's going to happen when he wanders into the wrong place."
Rublack said the Orphaned Wildlife Center has used some of the nearly $28,000 raised last year on a GoFundMe Page to begin construction of a specially-designed enclosure to house Pedals if the state Division of Fish and Wildlife allow the black bear to be captured and transferred to the facility.
"It's not that hard," she said. "We just need the authority."
The state Division of Fish and Wildlife continue to maintain that Pedals is best served by leaving him in his natural environment.
Caryn Shinske, a public information officer for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said Tuesday morning that there was "nothing new to report on the upright bear" and any updates would be posted on the agency's website.
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.