Bear Shows Up At Memorial Day Parade In Avon

AVON, CT — Since winter ended, Avon has been the proverbial ground zero for Connecticut's bear sighting scene and that continued on Memorial Day, according to the animal control office.

Footage is making its way across social media — and was played on WFSB Channel 3's broadcasts — of a bear showing up just prior to the town's Memorial Day parade Monday morning.

The 44-second clip shows a black bear on West Main Street in Avon, walking behind a street barrier as folks gather roadside to enjoy the Memorial Day parade.

In the background, one voice keeps saying "bear, bear" and the visual of a large-pawed, sharp-toothed mammal drew an audible buzz among parade goers.

The bear, which was tagged, is then seen galloping between sidewalks and through the landscaping in front of the Pasta Vita restaurant in Avon.

Folks are seen slowly moving away from the bear, while others sitting for the parade seemed oblivious to its presence.

Many onlookers are seen cajoling their dogs away from the creature as pre-parade traffic is slowly making its way down the street.

The bear is last seen in the footage passing in front of the Total Fitness facility on West Main Street.

The source of the footage is unclear, though it was sent to WFSB, which broadcasted it on newscasts Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

Avon Animal Control Officer Angela Grano said Tuesday morning this bear was one of two that had local police scrambling throughout the downtown area on Memorial Day.

She said another bear actually visited a gazebo in the town center and police had to scare it off and make sure it didn't act aggessively toward the public.

Grano said Monday's incident turned an annual observance into an event that delivered more than folks bargained for.

"It certainly was a shocker," Grano said. "The bears ran through the Memorial Day parade. They actually grazed some people."

While bears have always been a part of life in Avon, the confluence of increased development and heavily wooded areas is leading to more bear encounters, Grano said.

"It's more now because of the development," she said.

Of all the towns in Connecticut experiencing bear sightings, Avon appears to be front and center.

Last month, an Avon woman was attacked by a bear while walking with her dog. She wasn't badly injured, but the incident served as a stern warning to folks about the need to be careful.

In all, bears have been seen bouncing on trampolines, invading people's homes and one even helped itself to several dozen cupcakes at an Avon bakery after charging an employee ... inside the building.

Monday's reported encounter is just the latest in a long line of these incidents.

Grano recommends folks report bear sightings to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. She said she and local police have been inundated with bear reports this spring.

While situations regarding safety should always be addressed by local responders, Grano said DEEP is actually keeping track of where the bears are.

Meanwhile, she continued the ongoing public awareness push for folks to be "bear aware."

This includes keeping your dogs on a leash while walking them; secure your chicken coops if you have them; and not providing bears with any food sources, such as unsecured trash or animal/bird feed.

"To a bear, that's like a free lunch," Grano said, adding that folks should also carry and use "bear horns" when necessary to scare them away should an encounter become too close.

She speculated Avon's Memorial Day interlopers may have been full-grown, hungry juvenile bears curious about the Memorial Day hubbub, possibly scared by the activity of the parade and the flyover.

"They meant no harm. They just ran off," Grano said.

To see footage of the reported bear visit to Avon Memorial Day Parade, click on this link.

To report a bear sighting to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, click on this link.

From May 24: 'Bear Charges Worker Inside Avon Bakery ... Eats Cupcakes'