This story contains graphic imagery.
A decade-old mystery surrounding a deceased bear cub in Central Park, and a bizarre admission by then-presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been brought back into sharp focus. In August 2024, Kennedy posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) confessing to dumping the young bear’s body in Central Park ten years prior. His stated aim? To stage the scene to look like a cyclist’s hit-and-run, an attempt to pre-empt a forthcoming exposé from The New Yorker.
While Kennedy’s confession aimed to get ahead of the story, it inadvertently solved a perplexing New York City enigma: how a wild black bear, native to the state but utterly out of place in modern Manhattan, came to be found dead under a bush near West 69th Street.
Unearthing the Truth: WIRED’s Revelations
Now, new light has been shed on this peculiar incident. WIRED has successfully obtained previously unreleased documents from the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation through a public records request. These files, which include never-before-seen photographs of the bear cub, reignite questions about Kennedy’s controversial actions and the significant aftermath they created for city employees, who were left to grapple with the cub’s tragic, short life and grim end.
A representative for Kennedy declined to comment on the new revelations. The New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Parks Department directed WIRED to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC). Jeff Wernick, a spokesperson for NYDEC, confirmed that their investigation into the bear cub’s death was closed in late 2014. The reason: “due to a lack of sufficient evidence” to determine if state law had been violated. Wernick further noted that New York’s environmental conservation law prohibits “illegal possession of a bear without a tag or permit and illegal disposal of a bear,” but crucially, “the statute of limitations for these offenses is one year.”
A “Crime Scene” in Central Park: The Initial Discovery
The first official communications regarding the cub’s remains began at 10:16 am on October 6, 2014. Bonnie McGuire, then-deputy director at Urban Park Rangers (UPR), informed colleagues that UPR sergeant Eric Handy had reported a “dead black bear” in Central Park.
“NYPD told him they will treat it like a crime scene, so he can’t get too close,” McGuire wrote, instructing Handy to document the scene with photos. Later that morning, a poignant follow-up email from McGuire simply read, “Poor little guy!”
Throughout the day, Handy updated his colleagues, noting the arrival of the Department of Environmental Conservation. Initial plans involved transferring the body to the Bronx Zoo for inspection by the NYPD’s animal cruelty unit and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. However, these plans changed, and the NYDEC ultimately transported the bear to a state lab near Albany for examination.
Haunting Imagery and Early Assessments
While some distant local news footage of the bear existed from October 2014, the documents obtained by WIRED include previously unpublished images taken by investigators at the scene. These photos, sent by Handy to McGuire, depict the bear lying unnaturally on its side, its head protruding from beneath a bush, resting beside a small patch of grass. Bits of flesh are visible through its black fur, which was partially covered in brown leaves.
A report attributed to Handy and his partner, “A. Ioannidis,” detailed the cub’s condition: the bear “had multiple injuries to its body, rear legs, and jaw.” Handwritten notes, seemingly from 4 pm on October 6, further indicated, “Further inspection of [the] hour seems to indicate bear was hit by a car.”
The unusual nature of the discovery was not lost on those involved. Handy communicated with Caroline Greenleaf, director of community relations for the Central Park Conservancy, who had initially alerted UPR. “Thanks for letting us know about the bear!” Handy wrote. “Definitely a first for Central Park.” Greenleaf’s reply succinctly captured the day’s strangeness: “All around strange day. I will be very interested in hearing the necropsy results.” Handy concurred the following morning, reiterating, “definitely strange.”
The Grim Truth: Necropsy Confirms Brutal End
The full extent of the cub’s tragic end was revealed the next day. A NYDEC law enforcement complaint summary, also obtained by WIRED, detailed the analysis performed by agency wildlife health biologist Kevin Hynes. “Mr. Hynes stated the cause of death to the less than one-year-old female bear cub was massive blunt force trauma consistent with a motor vehicle strike,” the report concluded.
The injuries were horrific: “spinal fractures, all legs broken, and skull fractures severe enough for the majority of its brain to be lost through its mouth.” This finding was consistent with Hynes’ preliminary forensic necropsy report for the NYDEC, which WIRED also acquired. This report, previously covered by Business Insider in 2024, provides crucial context to a photo featured in The New Yorker story, which shows Kennedy sticking his hand into the deceased animal.
Lingering Questions and a Bizarre Legacy
The newly revealed documents paint a vivid picture of the confusion and grim reality faced by New York City officials in the wake of RFK Jr.’s bizarre attempt to manipulate the narrative around the bear’s death. While the official investigation concluded without charges due to legal limitations, the incident remains a stark reminder of the unusual lengths taken and the disturbing aftermath left for others to manage. The cub’s short life, tragically ended by blunt force trauma, became a strange footnote in the city’s history, now inextricably linked to a prominent political figure’s controversial actions.
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