HuntingNet.com Forums - Very large bear taken in NY

Looks like two different bears.

Same paper, same day

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071019/NEWS/710190339
Record setting bear bagged in Monroe
Times Herald-Record
October 19, 2007
Monroe — The classic big-game hunting story usually ends with an epic struggle between man and animal deep in the wilderness.
This is not one of those stories.
The tale of Frank DeGennaro and his 626-pound black bear — a potential record-setter — is a modern hunting story, one that reflects the ever-growing problem of animals living in our suburban sprawling midst.
DeGennaro lives in a fairly new subdivision just north of Sterling Forest in a woodsy section of town near Walton Lake. The area, like the rest of Orange County, has seen a drastic rise in the number of black bears within the last five to 10 years.
DeGennaro's wife, Joy, was among the first to have seen the giant black bear roaming around their neighborhood about three weeks ago. The bear took one trash bag after another from three garbage cans, dragged them into the woods and feasted on their contents.
She looked on from the car, fascinated as much by the animal's demeanor as by its hulking size.
"I don't think he necessarily appeared as threatening as he appeared too comfortable," Joy said.
More sightings began to raise fear among neighbors.
"He usually came out during the time that the kids got on the bus, so it was kind of scary," Joy said.
Frank's first reaction to seeing the bear — it was licking grease from a neighbor's barbecue at the time — was notably different. "I thought, 'That's one very large bear,'" said Frank, a lifelong hunter, his eyes wide and gleaming.
On Saturday, the opening day of bow-hunting season, he donned his hunting fatigues and headed with his compound bow for the woods behind his home.
At about 4:30 p.m., he finally came within 45 feet of the bear, which was busy eating acorns and berries. He waited for his shot, but the bear caught his scent and walked away.
He followed, and when the bear finally turned broadside, Frank released an arrow that pierced its heart and lung.
It took five men and a tractor to pull the dead bear out of the woods, Frank said. When sprawled on a tarp, the bear appeared to be about 7 feet to 8 feet tall, he said.
The animal is currently at the taxidermist, where the Pope & Young Club, the official archery scorers, will measure its skull size to determine if it is indeed a state record.
According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the largest black bear felled by an archer was 11 years old and had a skull size of 22ê inches.
It was killed in 2006 in Deerpark.