A bear that broke into a home Canton has been euthanized and one of the four cubs with the bear has died after being tranquilized, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
DEEP said Environmental Conservation Police responded Monday to a report of a bear attempting to break into an occupied residence on North Mountain Road in Canton. Officers found that a bear had tried to break in through the front door.
The person who was home at the time tried to scare the bear away by ringing a bell and the dog was also barking, but the bear tried to break in through a window. It eventually left and was gone when officers arrived, according to DEEP.
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Three hours later EnCon officers received a call from East Hill Road, about 400 yards away from the location of the first call, after residents came home to find the bear had broken through a window and ransacked the kitchen, according to DEEP.
Officers found a bear at the edge of the property with food taken from the home and DEEP said the bear showed no signs of fear or wariness of people, which is not typical of a wild bear.
Because the bear entered homes or tried to enter occupied homes, and shows no signs of fear or aversion to humans, DEEP said, the decision was made to euthanize the bear for the safety of the public.
After the bear was euthanized, officers at the scene found four six-month-old cubs in a nearby tree and captured them to evaluate and relocate.
DEEP said all four were captured, but one of the cubs did not revive after being tranquilized and died.
The surviving three cubs were released to a remote wooded area. DEEP said it has an “excellent bear habitat where they can forage for natural food sources free from the risks of human interaction or habituation.”
DEEP said it received several reports over the last couple of weeks from the area about a bear with four cubs repeatedly breaking into homes, sometimes while people, including children, were inside, and they believe the bear from the reports is the same bear that was euthanized.
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“The bear had been aversively conditioned multiple times in the past week by DEEP EnCon Police and continued to break into homes despite these efforts. DEEP set three traps for this bear in an attempt to capture it; but the bear did not enter any of the traps and continued to exhibit increasingly dangerous behavior,” a news release from DEEP said.
They said the habituation of bears is extremely dangerous for the public, as well as for bears.
DEEP warns that bears should never be fed, intentionally or otherwise.
They said birdfeeders and birdseed should be removed from late March through November, barbecue grills should be kept clean and stored in a garage or shed, garbage should be secured in airtight containers, kept in a garage or enclosed storage area, and put outside the morning of collection and pet food should not be left outdoors, and pets should be fed inside.
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