Bear Effigy Imitates Its Wall St. Counterpart

The bear faced off with the bull on Monday.

Morning commuters to Manhattan's financial district were greeted Monday by the sight of a 60-pound, 6-foot-long stuffed bear chained to the legs of the famous bull statue on lower Broadway.

Witnesses said the bear was positioned to look as if it were taking a bite out of the bull, a sculpture by the Italian artist Modichi that is a favorite photo-taking stop for tourists.

By midafternoon, the bear had vanished. A bystander directed reporters to the New York Stock Exchange: "Go to Broad Street and turn left. Maybe he went down there."

No one has claimed responsibility, said a spokesman for the Alliance for Downtown New York, an independent security force.

The alliance cut the chains and removed the effigy at around 3 p.m., the spokesman said. "It was a safety hazard," he said.

Joseph Timpone, a spokesman for the alliance, said a bystander asked whether he could take the bear home to the Bronx with him; witnesses said they saw the bear being carted off in a grocery cart. "The last time we saw it, it was headed north on Broadway," Mr. Timpone said.

A group of harried businessmen, crowded around a terminal in the lobby of a Quick & Reilly brokerage office across the street from the bull, said they had seen it in the morning but paid little attention.

In the end, the bear got the best of Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 512.61 points for the day.

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