Vernon woman accused of interfering with bear biologists [NJ bear nut Susan Kehoe nailed again!]

An animal-rights activist from Vernon has been charged with obstruction and resisting arrest when she interfered with state wildlife biologists who were trying to tranquilize a black bear to change a satellite-radio collar used to track the bear, police said today.

Susan Kehoe, 58, was charged Wednesday at 4:16 p.m. when she interfered and prevented a biologist from firing a tranquilizer dart at the bear, police said in a press release.

They did not specifically say how Kehoe interfered, and police and state officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Reached by telephone, Kehoe also declined to comment.

Here's today's update to the story:

http://www.nj.com/starledger/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1223612387130690.xml&coll=1
Vernon activist charged with hindering biologists
'Bear Whisperer' allegedly got in way of effort to tranquilize sow in woods
Friday, October 10, 2008
BY JIM LOCKWOOD AND BRIAN T. MURRAY
An animal-rights activist from Vernon has been charged with interfering with state wildlife biologists who were trying to tranquilize a bear to change its radio collar, which tracks the sow for research purposes, police said yesterday.
It was the second time since March that Susan Kehoe, 58, was charged in connection with a bear incident. In March, she was issued a disorderly persons summons for feeding bags of sunflower seeds to bears at her home, and that case is pending in Vernon Municipal Court.
On Wednesday, four members of the state's Bear Project were trying to tranquilize a large female bear wearing a global positioning system transmitter collar with a low-running battery. The state is monitoring several collared sows to study their habits in the area and their travels in human-occupied regions. The batteries in the collars are set to run out by the end of the month, and after the collars are replaced, the bears are released un harmed.
"Our biologists were there to retrieve a GPS radio collar and replace it," said DEP spokeswoman Darlene Yuhas. "It had been on the bear for the summer. It's part of the study we're doing to collect data on the bears."
As biologists were narrowing the bear's location to about the south parking lot of Mountain Creek ski resort, near Route 94 and 517, some passing motorists heckled them. One of the officials even tually shot the bruin with a tranquilizer dart from an air rifle, but it takes two darts to fully tranquilize a bear. Before the second dart could be fired, Kehoe appeared -- seemingly out of nowhere -- and prevented the second shot from being fired, police said.
"They shot the bear with the first dart and Susan Kehoe just ap peared and started yelling and waving her arms, 'Don't shoot the bear. Don't shoot the bear. Don't shoot me,'" said Vernon police Lt. Daniel Zill. "She wasn't directly between the bear and biologist, but close enough that the biologist didn't want to take a chance" and fire the second shot.
Kehoe was accompanied by a fellow activist, Angela Metler, who was not charged in the incident, according to state authorities, Ke hoe's attorney and Metler.
There are varying accounts of the incident.
State authorities said the duo emerged from the brush carrying three video cameras, and Kehoe allegedly shouted at the biologist who was trying to fire a second dart at the bear, got in the line of fire by standing behind the bear and ran up to the biologist and continued shouting as the bear passed between them.
The bear escaped, and police were called. Kehoe was arrested at the scene and charged by Vernon police with obstruction of a governmental function and resisting ar rest. She also was issued a sum mons by the division over hindering or preventing the lawful taking of wildlife. She was released pending a hearing Tuesday in Vernon Municipal Court.
The bear, found by biologists about 90 minutes later, was tranquilized and had its collar replaced and was released unharmed, police said.
Kehoe declined to comment, but her attorney and Metler said she is innocent.
"She's not guilty of any of these charges. Not only did she not resist arrest, but our contention is she was assaulted by police," said Kehoe attorney William Strazza.
Zill said that when Kehoe was told she was under arrest, and "when the officer tried to handcuff her, she flailed her arms and tried for a minute or so to not be handcuffed, and she had to be forcibly handcuffed."
Strazza and Metler asked why a video camera and two still cameras were seized from Kehoe and Metler.
Metler said the duo was tipped off to the biologists by others who saw and heard them firing guns and called the pair, who thought bears were being killed.
"We were there to document and observe what they were doing -- that's it," Metler said. "Susan climbed over a hill and thought she was going to be hit with a tranquilizer gun because they didn't see her. It's outrageous -- they do not want to be videotaped. Why do they object to activists videotaping them? Why? If we went there to interfere, would we be documenting it? It's ridiculous."
Both women are strident bear- rights activists and have gotten into trouble before.
Kehoe was charged in March with disorderly conduct after being videotaped supposedly feeding bags of sunflower seeds to bears in the backyard of her home. She has pleaded not guilty in that case and has filed motions for dismissal or a change of venue for a bench trial. That case is scheduled to be heard Oct. 21 in Vernon Municipal Court.
Metler was convicted in Vernon Municipal Court in 2006 of harassing hunters during New Jersey's bear hunt in 2005. In 2004, she was fined in the same court for chaining herself inside a bear barrel trap as a protest against bear hunting.
On Oct. 2, the "Inside Edition" television show did a segment on Kehoe, in which she described her self as "The Bear Whisperer." The program featured some of Kehoe's home videos, including footage of two cubs swimming in a baby pool and romping on a hammock in her backyard, as well as Kehoe singing a lullaby to a sleeping bear that took a swipe at her when it awoke.
The show also quoted a Staten Island Zoo wildlife expert saying Kehoe is risking danger with her close encounters with bears, be cause if one ever attacked her she would not be able to escape.

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