DEEP Seeing More Bear Sightings Than Usual

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is seeing more bear sightings than usual this time of year and the weather is playing a big part in that number.

Cellphone video provided to NBC Connecticut shows a family of bears walking through a West Simsbury home's yard Friday morning.

Polly Rice captured the video. She said she's seen the bears come by three times this month: an usual sight for January.

“For a time the momma was just in the backyard without them and I know that they were probably either looking for each other or something because she turned to look at the neighbor’s yard over there and eventually they caught up and too the little tour and then across the street,” said Rice.

DEEP says usually bears become more active between March and April, after the coldest winter months have passed; but with the mild January Connecticut has had DEEP is getting more reports of bear sightings than normal, at least one a day. Many of those calls are coming from western Connecticut.

“They’re not full hibernators and they can move around when it’s a little bit warmer out,” said DEEP wildlife biologist, Paul Rego.

The lack of snow on the ground is a bigger factor than the mild temperatures. 

Rego said there is also an increasing bear population in Connecticut. Last year DEEP received more than 6,000 reports of black bear sightings, compared to twenty years ago when there were only about 500 per year.

Officials warn that if you don’t want to attract a bear to your yard, don’t leave bird feeders up.

“My neighbor’s bird feeder was knocked over so they ate all of that," said Rice.

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