海角大神

A聽bear聽cub聽has been found聽dead聽under a bush inside New York City's Central Park, and authorities suspect animal cruelty played a role.

The聽cub聽was found Monday morning by two women walking their dogs. The women notified a Central Park Conservancy employee. There were signs of trauma to the聽cub's聽body, which authorities said may have been dumped there.

Florence Slatkin, a longtime resident of the Upper West Side, told The Associated Press that she and a friend were leaving the park when her friend's terrier spotted something near a bicycle lying on the ground.

"At first, we thought it was a bag of clothes or maybe a聽dead聽dog," said Slatkin, a retired transit administrator who lives near the park.

But then, as they got closer, they realized it was a very small聽bear.

Police later dusted the bicycle for prints.

Bears聽are not among the park's known wildlife population, and there are no聽bears聽at the Central Park Zoo. No聽bears聽were reported missing from other zoos.

The聽dead聽3-foot (1-meter)-tall聽bear聽cub聽was being sent to Albany, where the state Department of Environmental Conservation was taking over the case and performing a necropsy on it. It was unclear what type of聽bear聽it was.

"I never, ever would have expected something like this in Central Park," Slatkin said.