Granby Bear’s Five Cubs Could Mark Connecticut First

GRANBY, CT — A mother black bear spotted with five cubs in Granby represents Connecticut’s first reported litter of that size, state wildlife officials confirmed to Patch.

“It is the first reported case of five cubs in one litter,” Bill Flood, media relations manager for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said in an email.

Granby resident Bob Groper said his home security camera recorded the family walking through his yard in May, CT Insider reported.

The unusually large litter exceeds the two or three cubs most commonly seen in Connecticut, according to DEEP’s black bear fact sheet.

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The family’s current status is unknown to the agency.

“This sow does not appear to have a radio collar, so our Wildlife Division has no reliable way to track her, or the status of her cubs,” Flood said. “Unless we collar her at some point, any updates will come from community observations.”

Five-cub sightings in Granby drew attention earlier this year. The Granby Drummer reported May 2 that a mother bear with five cubs had been seen in April, crediting NBC Connecticut with the initial report. It was not immediately clear whether that sighting involved the same family Groper recorded.

According to DEEP, cubs are born in winter dens in late December through early January, weighing 6 to 12 ounces. Female bears raise the young, which typically remain with their mother until their second spring.

For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.