This was some bear hug.
A New Jersey state trooper responded to a bizarre call April 1, but it was no joke — an abandoned bear cub was sitting in a roadside ditch along 1-78 East in Union Township.
So the cop did what officers do best —and launched into rescue mode, scooping the baby bear up and bringing it to safety.
A New Jersey state trooper beams with delight after rescuing this adorable cub from a roadside ditch. New Jersey State Police
“I got the call, and I was alone, so I drove out to the spot, and when I got there, I saw a bunch of good Samaritans there, and the little bear was on the side of I-78 near a fence,” said the trooper, who asked to remain anonymous, to The Post.
“I didn’t want him to run out onto the highway, so I went after him, and he was in some bushes, and he did give me a little run for the money.
“I chased around after him and eventually caught him,’’ the trooper said.
The adorable cub appears to play hide-and-seek in the police cruiser. New Jersey State Police
“He was tiny, maybe 10 pounds and looked very young, like he might have been born recently.
“Another officer arrived to help, and we managed to get him into the patrol car.”
Adorable photos released by the police on their Facebook page show the un-bear-ably cute cub snuggling up with a trooper, who is visibly beaming with excitement.
The tiny brown bear was also pictured playfully peeking from behind a seat of the cops’ police cruiser.
“Picked up on I-78 for suspicious levels of adorable,” a fan wrote in response to the photos.
The trooper who spoke with The Post said he took his new furry buddy back to his police barracks, “and right away, we contacted Fish and Wildlife, who were there in 20 minutes.”
The troopers and wildlife officials soon pieced together the cub’s tragic back story.
A few days before, an adult female bear, believed to be its mother, was found dead in the median of I-78 near where the cub was found.
It was apparently struck by a tractor trailer or another heavy vehicle, the trooper said.
“We figured that was the cub’s mother and the cub didn’t know what to do so had been wandering around by itself for a day or two” he said.
In a heart-warming turn of events, the wildlife officials told the troopers they were caring for a mother bear who had two cubs the same age — and they had little doubt she would be happy to take in the orphan cub.
“That made us all really happy,” the officer said. “The cub will have a new mom and a family.”
The cute cub left its mark on the cop.
“I’ve been a trooper for two-and-a-half years,” he said. “And this is by far the most memorable call I’ve ever had.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime call, and I was happy I caught it.”
Black bears are native to New Jersey and can reach 400 pounds when fully grown according to the New Jersey Department of Wildlife Protection.
They emerge from hibernation between March and May.
-Additional reporting by Ella Morrison