NJ Man On Trial For Killing 3 Bears Takes The Stand

ANDOVER, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A New Jersey man on trial for fatally shooting three bears in his own backyard took the stand in his own defense Monday.

Robert Ehling, 78, is on trial in the civil case for shooting and killing a bear and her two cubs out of season and having a loaded shotgun too close to an occupied home.

Ehling said he was defending his wife inside their Sparta home when he shot and killed the bears. The adult bear was found dead on Ehling's second-floor deck.

Ehling described in court how he grabbed his shotgun after hearing his wife scream that there was a bear on the deck. He said he opened the sliding door and went outside to scare the animal off.

"He looked me right in the face," Ehling said. "(I) aimed at its head and pulled. Catastrophically, the bear fell."

Ehling claimed he killed the adult bear because he was afraid and then fatally shot the first cub because his bifocals made it feel as if it was coming at him. He then went inside, reloaded and shot and killed the second cub 30 feet away.

Ehling is contesting four summonses filed against him by the state, CBS2's Christine Sloan reported. He could be fined up to $2,000 for the death of each bear. The defense said the fine could be as little as $100, arguing the state has to determine the value of each bear.

The defendant said he won't let New Jersey make an example of him.

There was no decision on the case Monday. The judge told everyone to return to court in January.

The prosecution said it wasn't a case of self-defense, that Ehling was tired of bears in his backyard and took matters into his own hands.

"When you went out there with that loaded gun, if that bear was not going to leave, you were going to shoot it. Is that correct?" municipal prosecutor Anthony Arbore asked Ehling during the trial.

"If that bear was aggressive, I would have to do something," Ehling answered.

The prosecution said that despite calling the police on numerous other occasions when bears were in the neighborhood, Ehling never called 911 in this case.

While the defense argued a sunflower seed inside the home attracted the bears, the prosecution claims it was seeds being fed to birds outside by Ehling's wife.

A conservation officer with the New Jersey Division of Fish and wildlife was cross-examined in court Monday morning.

The officer took several pictures after responding to the scene, reporting no signs of aggression by the adult bear, but the prosecution said it really doesn't matter.

"Whether or not he shot the bear, whether or not he had a loaded gun within proximity of the neighboring houses with the intent to shoot a bear, and whether or not it was in or out of bear season, that's all that matters in this case," the prosecutor said.

Coincidentally, the trial started last week as bear-hunting season got underway in New Jersey.