By Jude Mead

I am sitting at my deck on a quiet sunny afternoon. The birds are chirping. The breeze is light and warm. I am sipping fresh homemade lemonade. Suddenly, from around the corner of my house appears a large black bear that begins to climb the stairs toward my front door like a friend who has just dropped in for a visit. The only thing separating us is a flimsy rocking chair. My fight-or-flight response kicks in, and I know jumping over the four-foot railing might not be a good idea, so I start waving my arms and shouting as loudly as I can. The bear turns slowly back down the stairs and saunters away.

Encounters like mine are not that unusual, said Connecticut wildlife biologist Paul Rego. According to Rego, bear conflicts with humans are daily events. “Some people are worried because they spotted a bear near their home; others report bears getting into garbage or other food sources. Then there are the bears that damage structures or enter homes,” Rego said.

Michael Platt had one enter his home twice. The first time, the bear broke the back door lock and found its way into the kitchen. It opened the refrigerator and freezer doors and pulled out jars of food and frozen packages of meat. It tried to open the dishwasher—unsuccessfully, although scratch marks remain. Platt said the pungent smell the bear left behind lingered for weeks.

He reported the incident to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), who came to his house and set a trap using a trail of Oreo cookies and Hostess cupcakes. The idea was for the bear to follow these foods through a long tunnellike contraption to a cage in the back that would safely snare the bear. Instead, the bear preferred to reenter Platt’s house, where it got into some garbage and left.

Martha Mullins had a similar experience. The bear punched in the front screen door of her house while she and her family were eating dinner. Mullins said the bear jumped into the hallway and made his way onto the sun porch. Her trusty dog, Sammy, chased the bear back outside.

Most people, however, sight bears outside. Gloria Gourley, a marathon runner, was finishing up a routine run on back roads in South Norfolk. As she walked up a friend’s driveway, a black bear stepped out from behind a tall pine tree in front of her. Gourley slowly backed away toward a vehicle parked near the garage. The bear kept approaching and the vehicle was locked. Gourley jumped on the car, and the bear walked right by her.

It is not only on the outskirts of Norfolk that bears wander. Marilyn Schatzberg and Eileen Fitzgibbons spotted one right in town. Schatzberg said they were taking a walk on Shepard Road near the firehouse when “a very large bear” came walking in their direction. The bear seemed a bit curious at first and then disappeared around some bushes.

While stories like these are common now, Rego said that a little over 100 years ago, bears did not even exist in Connecticut. “Catching even a glimpse of a bear would be rare, if not impossible, because farms moved in and the forests were cleared.” The return of forest growth set the stage for bears to come back. The first evidence that bears had migrated into Connecticut from Massachusetts was in the 1980s. Since then, the population has exploded: bears produce two, three, and sometimes even four cubs at a time, and food has been plentiful.

According to Rego, bears like acorns, fruit and plants best, but they are known to kill whitetail deer fawns, livestock or even smaller mammals. Large bears may even kill smaller bears, though that’s uncommon. With their keen sense of smell, the slightest aroma can attract a bear. Homes, with their bird feeders and garbage cans, are a good source of favorite foods. Since bears now associate humans with food, these once shy creatures are now losing their natural fear of people.

So what does the DEEP do about a “naughty bear”? It depends. Sometimes the bear is caught and a bright colored tag with a number is attached to its ear so the bear can be monitored. It is then released in approximately the same location where it was captured, unless it is an urban area, and then it is transported to a more rural location. If a bear is seized repeatedly for being a nuisance, it might be euthanized. But a tag in a bear’s ear does not mean a problem bear. Sometimes bears are tagged for research and to monitor their movement, population and lifespan.

Rego said bears are here to stay, and people need to understand that. First, they should know some facts about bears, especially that this impressive animal can weigh up to 450 pounds for a male and 250 for a female. They breed in the summer, mostly late June, and the males may travel miles to find a female. Females, being more territorial, will stay within a five (with cubs) to 60 square mile radius. The cubs are born in January or February. Rego also said that, despite the myths, bears do not hibernate, and although in winter their level of activity decreases, their heart rate slows and their temperature drops, bears can get up and move around anytime. This past winter bears were very active because it was so mild, with little snow and plenty of acorns.

Learning to live alongside bears means following some advice. Rego said it is rare for bears to attack a human, and they will leave the area before any confrontation. But some precautions are necessary. Never approach a bear. If you happen to surprise one in the woods, back away slowly. If that doesn’t work, the next option is waving arms, shouting and throwing sticks. Bears may bluff a charge, so it is important to stay calm and shout.

Rego’s last piece of advice is never deliberately feed or try to attract a bear, because it could create an unsafe situation. All foods and garbage should be kept in containers with tight lids and stored inside at night. By following these simple rules, bears and humans can exist together in Norfolk.

Photo by Bruce Frisch: A young bear peers in the kitchen window of the Frisches’ house in South Norfolk. The same bear also tore the bottom panel off their kitchen door.