2 Bears Found Dead on Route 15

Two bears were found dead on the side of Route 15 North in Jefferson on Wednesday, police said.

The first bear was found shortly before 9:30 a.m. on Route 15 at the intersection of Berkshire Valley Road, where NJDEP officials later picked the bear up, Police Telecommunications Operator Henry Merz said.

The second bear was found around noon, also on Route 15 North, by the 8-mile marker, Merz said.

NJDEP officials could not provide any additional information about the bear reports on Wednesday.

Merz also said there wasn't any information reported on the size of the bears, or the reason they were on the side of Route 15.

"There's no accident reports, there's no incident reports," Merz said. "People just called in about a dead bear on the side of the road."

The bears were found just several days after the annual week-long hunt took place in Northern New Jersey.

The first bear killed in the hunt was a 165-pound male black bear in Jefferson on Dec. 4.