Black Bear Spotted Casually Roaming Behind Elderly Woman with Her Walker in Connecticut Suburb
A black bear was caught on camera casually strolling behind an elderly woman with her walker on a quiet street in West Hartford, Connecticut
The woman hurried home with her caretaker after noticing the animal, the outlet reported
There has been an increase in bear sightings in the state recently, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental ProtectionA black bear has been caught on camera casually strolling around a quiet neighborhood in Connecticut.
On the morning of Wednesday, June 11, two black bears were spotted roaming near Elizabeth Park in West Hartford, local ABC-affiliated station WTNH reported.
The station's anchor, Dennis House, captured footage of the bears on Asylum Street, with the outlet also sharing a clip on YouTube showing one bear walking not far from an elderly lady with her walker.
The woman and her caretaker hurried home after spotting the animal, the outlet noted.
Her son-in-law, Bob Mitchell, recalled to WTNH, "She was coming in, they were both white, trying to get through the door, and she goes 'There's a bear.' "
"It doesn't matter to her, she's tough," he added about whether his mother-in-law's walks will continue.
A woman's 13-year-old daughter was also greeted by two bears in West Hartford this week after getting off the school bus, per NBC Connecticut. It's not clear if it was the same two animals.
Jeannette Dardenne told the outlet of her daughter, 'She got off and I got a phone call, she said in a really calm voice, 'Mom there is a bear in front of me,' and I said 'Okay,' and she kind of paused and said 'there are two bears in front of me.' "
'I think she was more like, 'It's beautiful', and I think it was also a lesson for her to recognize that there are wild animals here and you do have to take note,' Dardenne added, per the publication, insisting she'd "never once felt endangered from a bear."
Per the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), "Black bears are increasingly common in Connecticut."
"Reports of bear sightings, even in heavily populated residential areas, are on the rise. The Wildlife Division has also seen an increase in the number of reported conflicts with black bears," it added.
The department stated, "The primary contributing factor to human-bear conflicts is the presence of easily-accessible food sources near homes and businesses."
"Black bears that consume human-associated food (e.g., birdseed, trash, pet food) on a regular basis become habituated (comfortable near people) and food-conditioned (associate humans, houses and neighborhoods with food)," it added.
The post continued, "As the bear population continues to grow and expand its range in Connecticut, and bears become increasingly food-conditioned, conflicts will continue to increase. Food-conditioned bears pose a greater risk to public safety and often cause more property damage to houses, cars, pets, and livestock."
DEEP urged the public never to feed bears, to remove bird feeders and bird food from late March through November, to store garbage securely and to keep barbecue grills clean.
The department also told people not to leave pet food outdoors, to supervise pets at all times when outside and to avoid placing certain foods in compost piles, as well as never attempting to approach a bear.
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DEEP is currently tracking an increase in bear sightings in Conn., with the bear population in the state estimated to be between 1,000 and 1,200, per NBC Connecticut.
The department said that if a bear is left alone, it'll usually just make its way to a more natural habitat, the outlet noted.
'Right now, the entire state of Connecticut is bear country, we have bears in every town in Connecticut,' DEEP's Wildlife Division Director, Jenny Dickson, said, according to the publication.
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