In East Hartland, CT, Mel Harder was visited by a black bear on the deck of the house in 2012. The bear is wearing tags and a collar. By calling the CT DEEP, Mel learned the bear was female, had been tagged in 2010, and was 200lbs when she was tagged. (CT DEEP)
WESTFIELD – One of Westfield’s animal control officers was led on a wild goose, or, wild bear chase Tuesday.
ACO Kerri Francis received five calls of bear sightings in a four-hour period, which led to a Westfield police dispatch operator naming the bear “Yogi” by the time the fifth call came in.
“That bear was fast!” Francis said Wednesday. “It covered a lot of ground and I never got to see it, not once!”
The first call came in at 11:46 a.m. Tuesday morning with a resident at 354 Falley Drive reporting seeing a black bear in her fenced-in backyard.
Next, a resident called police at 12:29 p.m. Tuesday afternoon with reports of the bear being seen on Lawton Avenue, Cranston Street and Yeoman Avenue, according to police logs.
Westfield Police Capt. Hipolito Nunez said that the bear would have had to cross the river to get to that location.
“I’d be heading back from one location and get another call of a new sighting,” Francis said.
She could “bearly” keep up!
At 1:40 p.m. the bear was seen crossing the road near the Elm Motel at 50 Russell Road.
Less than a half hour later, a caller reported seeing a large black bear in his backyard at 39 Western Ave. at 2:06 p.m. Tuesday afternoon and was headed westbound.
Lastly, the bear was spotted at 85 Valley View Drive at 3:50 p.m. Tuesday, which is where Francis’s game of “Find Yogi” came to an end.
Francis believes it was the same bear, but said there could possibly have been two bears.
When residents spot a bear, they are certainly welcome to call the police, and as Francis did on Tuesday, an animal control officer will respond to the call.
“There is nothing I can do, though, if no one is bothering the bear and the bear is not bothering anyone,” she said.
Residents should always be careful and absolutely never approach a bear, Francis said.
“Do not take things into your own hands because you will lose,” she said.
According to Francis, the Environmental Police won’t even come out unless a bear is in a person’s home.
Nunez said if a bear is threatening, then the Environmental Protection Agency would come to tranquilize and move the bear.
The number one thing to attract bears are bird feeders. A bear’s sense of smell is better than a greyhound’s, Francis said.
Small pets could be in danger depending on how hungry or irritated a bear is, but a barking dog will likely scare a bear away.
It isn’t unusual to see bears out at this time of year, and they can even be seen in the winter.
“A bear will come out of hibernation to look for food if it gets hungry enough,” Francis said.
The bear seen on Tuesday reportedly had two red tags in its ears, which would indicate the bear is from Connecticut, said Francis.
According to Wildlife of Connecticut (wildlifeofct.com), “Black bears have black to brown fur and may have tan muzzles or a white spot on their chests. These are large and powerful animals with a stocky build and short thick legs. A typical Connecticut male black bear (boar) will weigh 150 to 450 lbs. Females (sows) tend to be smaller and weigh 110 to 250 lbs.”
As of half past noon Wednesday, no calls had come in yet reporting a bear sighting.
“People have to remember bears are around,” she said, “And we have to learn to live with them.”
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
