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'Pedals' The Bear That Walked Upright Due To Injured Paws Reportedly Shot Dead

WEST MILFORD, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Pedals, an injured black bear that walked upright and became a social media sensation, was shot dead by a hunter, according to a report.

Pedals was reportedly shot by a bow hunter Monday, the first day of New Jersey's bow hunt for black bears.

The bear first gained fame after it was spotted ambling around neighborhoods and caught in videos that were posted on social media and played on national television. Experts say the bear apparently has some sort of leg or paw injury that won't allow it to spend much time on all fours.

Sabrina Pugsley, who maintains a Facebook page about Pedals, told the Bergen Record that word of Pedals being killed started surfacing Wednesday after a hunter brought in a bear's carcass to the Green Pond check station.

New Jersey's Division of Fish and Wildlife said it had no way of telling whether Pedals was killed or not.

Pugsley told the Record she believed the hunter's claim, since Pedals had a missing right paw and a mangled left one.

At least 412 bears have been killed in the hunt, which ends Saturday.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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