Bloodlust on the bear hunt: How hundreds of bears were legally killed by hunters as young as 13 just a few miles from New York

Mark Rogalo had been hunting the same woods since he was ten years old, but even he couldn't believe his luck the other day.

The 52-year-old builder from Boonton, New Jersey, had been walking up a trail for just five minutes when, looking up towards a ridgeline studded with mountain laurels, he saw something 300ft away. Shiny and coal black, it could only be one thing, and a glance through his binoculars confirmed it — a three-year-old bear sitting on a rock, licking her paws after a good meal. 

It was to prove her last. Moving cautiously up the side of the hill, Mr Rogalo ducked behind the trees and rocks as he edged towards her. He was 120ft away when he chambered the first cartridge into his semi-automatic 12-bore Winchester shotgun.     More Read