Danbury officials are warning of bear sightings in the last couple of days.
The most recent sightings have been in the Chambers Road area around Candlewood Lake and the Morris Street/Highland Avenue area. Mayor Mark Boughton says there are 5 or 6 bears roaming around Danbury. He encouraged residents to call the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection if they spot a bear. While the first instinct is to call police or animal control, Boughton says officers are not trained to tranquilize bears.
In the past year, 27 bear sightings in Danbury have been reported to DEEP.
Between last June and this weekend, DEEP says there have been 6 reported sightings in Bethel, 27 in Brookfield, 19 in Easton, 41 in Kent, 31 in Monroe, 23 sightings in New Fairfield, 108 in New Milford, 94 in Newtown, 53 in Redding, 19 sightings in Ridgefield, 10 in Sherman and 40 in Wilton. DEEP officials say the numbers may be deceiving though, because if several neighbors all see the same bear and phone DEEP it's recorded as individual sightings.
The black bear is a stocky animal with short, thick legs. It is the smallest North American bear. In Connecticut, adult males, or boars, normally weigh from 150 to 450 pounds, while females, or sows, weigh from 110 to 250 pounds. Yearlings weigh 45 to 100 pounds. Adults are 5 to 6 feet long.
The black bear is an intelligent animal with keen senses of smell and hearing. It can detect the slightest aroma of food, which may lead the bear to campsites and near homes. Odor from carelessly stored food and garbage can lure bears long distances. Black bears travel and feed primarily at night, but can be active any time of the day. Females with cubs tend to have restricted home ranges which average 5 to 7 square miles in Connecticut, while males move about widely in home ranges of 12 to 60 square miles.
To avoid attracting bears remove bird feeders from late March through November, wait until the morning of collection before bringing out trash and keep trash bags in a container with a tight lid and store in a garage or shed. Residents are encouraged not to leave pet food outside overnight.
Lime can be sprinkled on the compost pile to reduce the smell and discourage bears.
If you see a bear on your property you can either leave the bear alone and wait for it to leave or make loud noises from a safe distance to attempt to scare the bear away. After the bear leaves the property, remove anything that may have attracted it to the area.
