Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he left a dead bear in Central Park as a prank

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WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once retrieved a bear that was killed by a motorist and left it in New York's Central Park with a bicycle on top, sparking a mystery that consumed the city a decade ago.

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This article was published 04/08/2024 (784 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once retrieved a bear that was killed by a motorist and left it in New York’s Central Park with a bicycle on top, sparking a mystery that consumed the city a decade ago.

Kennedy described the incident in a video that was posted to social media Sunday, adding it would be included in a New Yorker article that he expected to be damaging.

The article was published Monday and included a photo of Kennedy with his fingers in the bear’s bloodied mouth, a mock grimace on his face. His left pant leg appears to have a bloodstain on it.

FILE - Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talks during a campaign event, in West Hollywood, Calif., Thursday, June 27, 2024.A New Jersey judge on Monday, July 29, 204, denied an effort to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from running for president under the state's sore loser law. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. talks during a campaign event, in West Hollywood, Calif., Thursday, June 27, 2024.A New Jersey judge on Monday, July 29, 204, denied an effort to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from running for president under the state's sore loser law. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

It’s the latest bizarre incident in Kennedy’s quixotic campaign that has divided his famous family and left Republicans and Democrats alike concerned about his potential impact on the presidential contest. Kennedy has acknowledged a parasite that lodged in his brain and died. He denied eating a dog after a friend shared a photo with Vanity Fair magazine showing Kennedy dramatically preparing to take a bite of a charred animal; Kennedy said it was a goat.

In the video, Kennedy recounts the story to actress Roseanne Barr. He says he was heading to a falconry excursion with friends when a woman driving ahead of him hit and killed the young bear with her vehicle. He says he put it in his own vehicle, intending to skin it and eat the meat, but the day got away from him.

Eventually, he says, he was in Manhattan and needed to get the bear carcass out of his vehicle. His friends, fueled by alcohol, concocted the Central Park plan as a prank, he said, adding he was not drunk himself. At the time, bicycle accidents were getting significant media attention, so Kennedy and his friends thought it would be funny to make it look like the bear was hit by a bicycle.

Two women walking their dogs found the dead bear and alerted authorities, touching off a mystery that captivated the city for a few days. Bears are not among the park’s known wildlife population.

The bike was dusted for prints and the animal sent to Albany for a necropsy, which determined the bear was likely hit by a vehicle and was not a victim of animal cruelty. But how the bear ended up in Central Park remained a mystery.

FILE - Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign event, in West Hollywood, Calif., June 27, 2024. On social media Sunday, Aug. 4, Kennedy described how he once retrieved a bear killed by a motorist and left it in New York's Central Park with a bicycle on top. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)
FILE - Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a campaign event, in West Hollywood, Calif., June 27, 2024. On social media Sunday, Aug. 4, Kennedy described how he once retrieved a bear killed by a motorist and left it in New York's Central Park with a bicycle on top. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

“I was worried because my prints were all over that bike,” Kennedy tells Barr in the video.

New York Police and New York State Environmental Conservation officers investigate the site where a bear cub was found dead under bushes in Central Park, Monday, Oct. 6, 2014, in New York. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once retrieved a bear that was killed by a motorist and left it in New York's Central Park with a bicycle on top, sparking a mystery that consumed the city a decade ago. Kennedy described the incident in a video on social media Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, adding it will be included in a forthcoming New Yorker article that he expects to be damaging. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
New York Police and New York State Environmental Conservation officers investigate the site where a bear cub was found dead under bushes in Central Park, Monday, Oct. 6, 2014, in New York. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once retrieved a bear that was killed by a motorist and left it in New York's Central Park with a bicycle on top, sparking a mystery that consumed the city a decade ago. Kennedy described the incident in a video on social media Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, adding it will be included in a forthcoming New Yorker article that he expects to be damaging. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
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