An unexpected visitor got a lot of attention at Westfarms Friday. A bear climbed a tree on mall property before running into nearby woods.
An unexpected visitor got a lot of attention at Westfarms Friday. A bear climbed a tree on mall property before running into nearby woods.
This comes as bear season picks up in our state.
“My friend was like, 'oh my god, there's a bear in the tree,'” Megan Cooney, of New Britain, said.
Shock and surprise from shoppers on Friday who spotted this black bear up in a tree in front of the Macy’s entrance at Westfarms.
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“That’s pretty crazy. I haven’t seen a bear in a really long time. Normally, they’re not like at the mall,” Brenda Morgan, a Westfarms shopper, said.
Officers with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) did what they could to get it down, shooting it with a paintball gun and smacking the tree.
The bear eventually climbed down with officers chasing after it as it wandered around the property before eventually running into nearby woods.
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Officers say their aim was to get the bear back to suitable habitat quickly rather than leaving it up there on its own.
“It’s much safer there. If it had come down on its own later tonight, gotten onto the road, gotten on I-84, it would have been a much worse outcome for the bear,” Elise Bouthillier, a DEEP public information officer, said.
This comes as DEEP says bear encounters have been on rise in Connecticut with 67 bears entering homes last year, the most in the last 10 years. There were sightings reported in 159 out of 169 towns in the state, much of it during warmer months.
“Last summer was incredibly bust for our officers, especially those in the northwest corner. We’re starting to see them cross the Connecticut River and come more east. They are spreading out,” Bouthillier said.
DEEP said there’s a big reason why.
“They are used to people. They associate people with dumpsters and dumpsters with food and they want the easy food,” Bouthillier said.
The agency is urging people to do their part by not leaving out dumpsters, and even scaring them if they’re in your yard, like banging pots and pans, so they know to stay away.
“We need to try to teach them that they don’t want to be around people,” Bouthillier said.
DEEP said if you do find a bear stuck in a tree, give them a call on their 24/7 dispatch line at 860-424-3333.
