[Henry10]

Originally Posted by BeyondtheHorizon

There are CLEARLY too many. Nature is brutal. It handles the overpopulation by eventually having the bears killing each other and starving to death(and I think we can understand the danger to human life that presents). By not hunting them we also make it so they have no fear of us. A recipe for disaster.

I've yet to hear someone explain to me why it's ok to hunt deer, but not bears. I guess it's ok to shoot a sweet animal like a deer, but not something that can rip you and other animals to pieces. Never really understood that moral logic. And yes people eat bear meat so that excuse isn't going to work and it's not like the animal cares what the motivation for hunting is anyway. And bears are not endangered. In fact they are so overpopulated they have been entering areas that have been developed by human civilization for hundreds of years. They are becoming dumpster/bird feeder bears. CT is a tiny state with no true wilderness areas. Basically we are surrounded by states in the northeast that allow bear hunting. Even with that hunting, bear population continues to grow. They are not even slightly endangered.

Maybe very soon CT will allow bear hunting, for those very reasons -- Connecticut considers allowing bear hunt.

[El Scorcho]

Originally Posted by Henry10

Maybe very soon CT will allow bear hunting, for those very reasons -- Connecticut considers allowing bear hunt.

I hope so.

[CTPALMLLC]

Yeah, it is getting bad! More and more sightings every year!

[in_newengland]

They should allow bear hunting.

Where I used to live, you couldn't ride your bike in spring or even go for a walk due to bears. Then they started coming into people's yards...so cute. Next thing, they were found in people's kitchens!

[parentologist]

That brownie-seeking bear is gonna get "deported" soon. He already has matching yellow ear bobs, which tells me that the DEP is keeping an eye on him as a problem bear. He's way too comfortable around people. I have a feeling that DEP is gonna move him deep into a rural area, and then he's gonna come back, and wind up needing to be euthanized.

Never, ever feed a bear, or allow him access to your garbage or your bird feeder. Rewarding him for approaching human habitation means an eventual death sentence for the bear, not to mention possible endangerment of future people with whom the bear may come in contact.

[AntonioR]

I'm not sure if this counts as a bear 'sighting,' but the owners of a barn in Kent certainly saw evidence of a bear presence. Yikes!

Bear kills donkey in Kent - StamfordAdvocate

I had to chuckle at this:

"DEEP officials set a trap for the bear — a large pipe filled with doughnuts. But after a week, the bear hadn’t fallen for it, though the doughnuts were missing. Likely raccoons, a DEEP official told the Hoffmans."

Yes, blame it on the raccoons simply because they have a thief look on their faces. lol

[Robert137]

The New Canaan newspaper of last week had a photo of a black bear going after a bird feeder in a backyard in the northern part of town. I didn't realize that they are so close to the heavily populated areas.

[Lalalally]

A friend of ours also had DEEP show up with a massive bear trap last Summer, after bear came into her houses (they're these giant tube shaped/cylander contraptions) baited with doughnuts. For one week they kept adding doughnuts, and every morning doughnuts would be gone. After 7 days, they packed up the trap and left. Lol. Raccoons won that battle too

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by Robert137

The New Canaan newspaper of last week had a photo of a black bear going after a bird feeder in a backyard in the northern part of town. I didn't realize that they are so close to the heavily populated areas.

Oh yeah. They come down to lower Fairfield. Not many but occasionally a few will be seen


Here's a City list of sightings in the past 1 year

Connecticut Black Bear Sightings

Top 10: The reports dont mean there's that many, a lot of them are of the same Bear.

Avon: 523
Farmington: 389
Simsbury: 287
Burlington: 250
New Milford: 240
Southbury 229:
West Hartford: 221
Canton: 204
Torrington: 162
Barkhamsted: 149

Graph I made for the towns with 3 or more reports

[Cambium]

Not in CT but just posted.. all he/she wanted was something to eat.. wonder what it grabbed.

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/870716673422053377