East Hampton, Portland Among Towns With Reported Bear Sightings

Farmington has taken over as the bear capital of Connecticut. That was the indication from the latest black bear sighting chart posted by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. For the period spanning Oct 4, 2017 to Sept. 25, 2018, Farmington had 458 reported sightings.

The town passed Avon, which seemed to have a stranglehold on the top spot for the better part of two years. So did Simsbury, the new No. 2 with 426 reported sightings during the period.

Avon was third at 408 reported sightings. Rounding out the Top 5 were Granby at 388 and Burlington at 320.

According to the data, Portland had 17 reported sightings in this time period and East Hampton had five. See how the rest of the state's towns ranked here.

The statistics reflect bear sightings actually reported to the DEEP. Some residents choose not to and some towns do not share the sightings reported to local animal control division with state authorities.

Click here to access the DEEP bear reporting form.

According to DEEP, bears are attracted to garbage, pet food, compost piles, fruit trees and birdfeeders. They also normally leave an area once they have sensed a human, as aggression towards humans is exceptionally rare for bears.

"The primary contributing factor to bear nuisance problems is the presence of easily-accessible food sources near homes and businesses," the DEEP website says. "Fed bears can become habituated and lose their fear of humans. Bears should never be fed, either intentionally or accidentally."

Anyone who encounters a bear in a densely populated area is asked to contact the DEEP Wildlife Division (860-424-3011, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or DEEP Dispatch (860-424-3333, 24 hours) to report the sighting and obtain advice.

For a full list of DEEP's "do's and don'ts" concerning bears, click here.

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Includes reporting by Chris Dehnel, Patch staff

Photo credit: Shutterstock / Not of actual bear spotted in East Hampton or Portland