Among the big political news stories of the week Kamala Harris formally clinching the Democratic nomination; the selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate was the bizarre tale of Robert F. Kennedy leaving a dead bear in New York Citys iconic Central Park, ending a decadelong local mystery.
As soon as it became clear to Kennedy that he would no longer be able to keep his illegal stunt a secret, the independent presidential candidate and conspiracy theorist went into damage control. He concocted a story that was clearly aimed at making his decision to dump the bears carcass more palatable to the general public.
But his explanation makes as little sense as the act itself.
Gordon Batcheller, who retired as New York states chief wildlife biologist in 2015 but spoke to HuffPost in his personal capacity, has followed the Kennedy bear cub story closely. He described Kennedys actions as perplexing, unlawful and wildly disrespectful of a wild animal.
Looking at the whole scenario, the word bizarre just leaps forward in my mind.
- Gordon Batcheller, former chief wildlife biologist of New York state
As a citizen, even as a biologist, looking at the whole scenario, the word bizarre just leaps forward in my mind in terms of behavior of this individual, Batcheller told HuffPost by phone on Tuesday. The thought that somehow doing this prank would be amusing or something just bizarre.
As for Kennedys account of what happened, Batcheller said it sounds to me like a 4-year-old who was meddling with moms freshly cooked pies, got caught and started fabricating some excuse about his dog and cat and little sister and everything else.
Bottom line, its wrong.
Earlier this week, The New Yorker was on the cusp of reporting as part of a lengthy profile that in October 2014, Kennedy callously and illegally dumped the carcass of a young black bear in Central Park and staged it to look like the animal had been struck and killed by a cyclist.
On Sunday, a day before the magazine went to press, Kennedy posted a video to X, formerly Twitter, in which he confessed to an often stunned-looking Roseanne Barr, of all people that he was responsible for the decade-old mystery, chalking it up to little more than a harmless prank.
In Kennedys telling, ditching the bear cub in the heart of Manhattan wasnt always his intention. It was simply what he resorted to after a long, successful day of falconry that is, hunting with trained birds of prey a fancy dinner in New York City and the realization that he had an early flight to catch the next morning. In short, those commitments spoiled what he led his audience to believe were totally reasonable plans to salvage the carcass and keep the meat.
The 60-year-old environmental lawyer, avid outdoorsman and master falconer explained to Barr that he was en route to New Yorks Hudson Valley for a day of falconry when a woman driving in front of him hit a bear and killed it a young bear.
So I pulled over and I picked up the bear and put him in the back of my van because I was going to skin the bear and it was in very good condition, he said, fidgeting in his chair. And I was gonna put the meat in my refrigerator and you can do that in New York state, you can get a bear tag for a roadkill bear.
Before we get into the rest of Kennedys rambling account, it is worth noting that what Kennedy did is illegal in New York, regardless of whether he had a license, or tag, to hunt a black bear at the time, which remains unclear.
Lets say youre a hunter and you have a bear tag as part of your hunting license, you still cant pick up a bear on the side of the road, Batcheller said. You just cant.
Salvaging a roadkill animal falls under an entirely separate permitting process completely unrelated to hunting, Batcheller explained. The process requires individuals to first report the animal and then obtain a permit from either the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or local law enforcement.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, or DEC, which led the 2014 investigation into the bear cubs death, told HuffPost that under the states environmental law, possession of a bear without a license or permit and illegal disposal of a bear are both subject to fines of up to $250 for the first offense. However, the statute of limitations for such offenses is one year, meaning Kennedy can no longer be charged or prosecuted.
DEC does not publicly release individuals sporting license information unless subpoenaed to do so or the individual authorizes their release. The agency also does not keep records of permits for salvaging roadkill animals, it said.
Kennedys campaign did not respond to HuffPosts requests for comment.
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