There was a car break-in in Avon this week and it was caught on camera. It’s a good thing too, because you might not believe it without seeing it yourself.
Those breaking in, were not even human.
With its proximity to the Farmington River and heavily wooded surroundings, Anvil Drive is the type of area where black bears commonly live. So, people in that Avon neighborhood aren’t surprised when they see them, except when they break into cars.
Earlier this week, three black bears were caught on home surveillance video strolling up alongside an SUV parked in a driveway. The curious family decided to look. No keys. No problem. Two of the three little bears cleanly opened the driver and front passenger doors. Then, climbed in to explore.
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The owners of the vehicle tell us the paint wasn’t even scratched and there was only minor upholstery damage.
Neighbors said they’ve seen bears in the neighborhood before and they’re becoming bolder.
“The fact that they’re opening car doors, that’s a little wild,” said next door neighbor Scott Turken.
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Turken said he sees bears about once a month, including an encounter where they knocked over his trash.
“They just sat out there for about an hour and a half, just chewing whatever they could get their hands on,” he said.
According to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), there were more than 11,000 bear sightings around the state in 2020, up from just over 7,000 the year before. More startling, some bears were doing more than just wandering by.
“Last year, we had a record number of reports of bears breaking into homes,” said DEEP spokesperson Will Healey. “We had 45 last year.”
If you live in an area with bears, DEEP has advice on what to do to avoid attracting them.
“[Feeding the bears] leads them to become more comfortable around humans and that’s not something that we want to foster,” added Healey.
If you see a bear, DEEP wants to know. They ask that all sightings are reported by going to the website www.portal.ct.gov and go to the living with black bears page to report those sightings.
