Black Bear Pays Visit to Brookfield Back Porch

BROOKFIELD, CT — Are there a whole lot more black bear sightings in the area lately, or is it just you?

Or maybe they've just gotten more brazen in their efforts to raid those outdoor buffets we humans call bird feeders?

One recent hungry visitor did a full Nureyev while bellying up to the bar in a Brookfield backyard.

Patch reader Tina Heidrich took this photo and more from a vantage point at 2 Carmen Hill in Brookfield on Sept. 30.

In Ridgefield on Sept. 17, another feeder raider took a much more comfortable tactic for its poaching, but the Beaver Brook Road homeowners told the Ridgefield Press the bear left in a hurry once they began banging on the door to their sunroom (see video below).

After nearly a century of Teddy bears and 'toons, Yogi and his cousins may seem cute and cuddly to many, but the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are reminding residents of the danger they represent. Reports of bear sightings, even in heavily populated residential areas, have been on the rise, DEEP has posted on its website. The agency attributes the growth in their population in part due to the presence of easily-accessible food sources near homes and businesses. Last year, there were over 8,000 black bear sightings in the state.

"Fed bears can become habituated and lose their fear of humans. Bears should NEVER be fed, either intentionally or accidentally," DEEP is advising.

A 38-year-old hiker from Newtown was injured during a bear attack in Southbury just this past Saturday. The incident has prompted two state senators, Eric Berthel and Senator Craig Miner, to call for a bear hunt to control the ursine population.

"We are concerned that, given the explosion in black bear population in the western part of the state, these incidents will only continue," the lawmakers said in a joint release.