Where The Bears Are In Connecticut: Town-By-Town Data

CONNECTICUT, CT — It's springtime, and in Connecticut, young people's attention turns not to the birds and bees, but to the bears.

Connecticut's eastern black bears (Ursus americanus americanus) typically hibernate from mid-December to the end of March or beginning of April, when they hit the neighborhood on the prowl for food. The intrastate migrations of Yogi and his crew are tracked by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

As of the end of the first week of April, just under a thousand bears had been logged by the state, with the largest concentration centering in the north central area around Simsbury and West Hartford.

Hikers and homeowners in Connecticut can expect to start catching glimpses of their ursine neighbors as they emerge from their dens, stomachs growling, in the next few weeks. It's not that the bears have become hungrier or more desperate, it's just that they have become more habituated to man-made structures and human behavior, according to DEEP wildlife biologist Paul Rego.

As they become bolder, bears may be spending more time with us. Some wildlife experts predict that a shift in climate and shortening winters in the Northeast will set black bears' internal alarm clocks earlier, perhaps before adequate food sources are available. If they awaken before their table is set for them in the wild, it's a fair bet they will be making their way to yours.

Love Birds? Bears Will Love You.

Connecticut homeowners' desire to surround themselves with little, chirping colorful birds is the main reason they're likely to be visited by large, growling black bears. Not only do the sight and smells of your backyard bird feeders attract bears, but they reward them for coming close to your home. That same principle applies to trash cans that aren't tightly covered.

DEEP officials advise Connecticut residents to remove birdfeeders and bird food from their yards from late March through November. And not only should homeowners keep garbage cans inside, the state wildlife biologists advise adding ammonia to your trash to make it unpalatable.

Remember that not all of your garbage is in a plastic bag inside a bucket. Make a point of cleaning your grills after use, and the wildlife scientists at DEEP recommend you store them, minus their propane cans, in a garage or shed when they are not being used. Outside compost piles should not contain meat or sweets.

Those screens around your porch or sunroom built to keep out insects are unlikely to make a bear think twice. Yogi'll tear it off faster than you can open a quart of Häagen-Dazs, and with even more enthusiasm.

The bad news is that if you have been unwittingly laying out a nice bear buffet for years, it may take some time to convince your quarter-ton freeloader that its favorite fast food joint is closed for business. Bears are quite intelligent, and can live 30-plus years. That combination means a bear is likely to remember where it scored a nice meal once, and return there again and again, according to the Appalachian Mountain Club.

Your Dog Won't Help You

We've all heard the stories of the family dog who protected his hearth and humans by standing up to the marauding bear and chasing it back into the woods. In real life, those types of encounters tend to play out very, very differently. Your spunky Pomeranian may indeed punch above its weight, but black bears range between 400 and 600 pounds, and that's where the smart money bets.

According to BearWise, an organization developed by black bear biologists to educate people on the finer points of human-ursine interaction, dogs were involved in more than half of the incidents involving people and black bears between 2010 – 2015. Forty-six percent of those dogs were injured or killed, and 62 percent of their human companions were injured.

Bears May Try To Bluff You. Seriously.

Genuinely predatory or aggressive black bears are a rarity, according to BearWise. But they have some contraindicative habits that will likely make you drop your picnic basket if you don't know any better.

A bear may stand on its hind legs to get a better look at whatever is irritating it, and may clack its teeth together, moan, blow, huff, or stomp the ground. If they get agitated or become nervous or fearful, they may "bluff charge" — run toward you and then stop before reaching you.

All of this only brings us to commandment No. 1 in the bear bible: never approach a bear. They're big, they're smart, have claws like knives, and you're probably between them and their breakfast.

Once the bear has made tracks away from your home or campsite, pour yourself another cup of coffee and report it to DEEP. The wildlife experts there review all the reports on a daily basis, and use the data for research purposes.

If you have questions, contact the DEEP Wildlife Division at 860-424-3011. In the event of a wildlife-related emergency, contact DEEP EnCon dispatch at 860-424-3333.