Bears Rescued From Simsbury Sewer

SIMSBURY, CT — Local responders had to handle a bear of a situation Wednesday, after a mother bear and her two cubs took an unexpected journey into a local sewer drain.

This prompted an all-out response from police, firefighters and state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials.

The nearly day-long drama ended at 3 p.m. on Banks Road, when the bears were finally cajoled and helped out of their predicament.

Thursday morning, the Simsbury Police Department posted a whole narrative and photos of the day's events — which ended positively for all involved — on it's Facebook page.

Libby Lord, a Suffield resident and owner of Libby Lord Photography, said she was notified of the situation by friend Marylou Lavoie of The Simsbury Camera Club.

So, without any further prompting, Lord high-tailed it over to Simsbury to see what was going on.

Lord reported the bears were actually stuck in the drain overnight and the mother bear needed help.

"She was crying throughout the night, heard by neighbors who called for help," Lord wrote.

Lord said Simsbury Police, the State Environmental Conservation Police and state biologists from DEEP were there, trying to figure out what to do.

After several failed attempts to get the bear and cubs out, Lord said responders lowered a "good-size log" into the open catch basin to try and provide an avenue for the bear and cubs to exit.

After a while, Lord said one of the DEEP responders imitated a bear cub to try and get them to utilize the log and climb out.

"And it worked! I've heard people do bird calls before, but never a bear call," wrote Lord.

She said another DEEP responder had actually climbed into the sewer pipe to check on the cubs.

Lord said once state biologists figured out the strategy, everyone stood back and waited.

She described the next series of events this way:

"After everyone was well back from her location, and waiting quietly, and watching... the momma's head popped up! Then she climbed out, took a look around, and went back to encourage the cubs to come out too. First one climbed up and out, and moved by a nearby tree, so the momma went to get cub #2. Up it came, much to the relief of the momma bear and all of the onlookers!

"And off they ran, looking for trees and a getaway from all the commotion," Lord said.

Lord credited the work of all involved with saving the bears and ensuring no one else was harmed.

"All I can say is that I'm grateful to have been there, and I'm in awe of the people from DEEP especially, along with the State Environmental Conservation Police, Simsbury Police and other town workers who also pitched in, in every way they could," she wrote. "It's something I'll never forget."

The Simsbury bear encounter comes after a bear actually entered a home in West Hartford on Sunday, causing a stir in that residential community.

'WATCH: Bear In West Hartford Makes Itself At Home'

For the Simsbury Police Department's Facebook page, click on this link.

For Libby Lord Photography's Facebook page, click on this link.

For the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's information page on bears, click on this link.