Bears Coming Back In Growing Numbers
By DAVID HOWARD
Published: October 19, 1997
CHERYL LAGO and her family were happy to see nature creeping up to their doorstep in rural Wolcott. The residents of quiet Spindle Hill Road tossed out cracked corn for a family of turkeys that regularly wandered into their back yard. Deer and pheasants were frequent neighbors.
And then a young black bear rumbled around the neighborhood for a few days this summer, and the joy of communing with wildlife was quickly replaced by trepidation. After watching the bear lay waste to a neighbor's birdfeeder and munch its contents, Debbie Rainone didn't let her two young sons play in their yard until the animal had been gone for several weeks.
''Deer is one thing, but the bear is another story,'' said Mrs. Lago, the mother of a 3-year-old boy. ''It's probably just a stereotype, but I think you do kind of think of a bear as more capable of hurting or attacking a child. It was kind of a reality check, that they're here.''
That wasn't the case until about a decade ago. Though black bears are the most common species of bear in North America, they vanished from Connecticut in the mid-1800's, driven out by unregulated hunting and the state's precipitous deforestation, said Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist with the State Department of Environmental Protection. But conditions have gradually come to favor the bears return: hunting and trapping were outlawed in 1973, and forests sprung up again on land cleared decades ago for pastures and mining operations.
Bears trickled in from western Massachusetts in the early 1980s, and they began to find habitat again in Connecticut's northwest corner about 10 years ago, Mr. Rego said. The state population now stands between 30 and 60. ''We're having more and more encounters with them,'' said Keith Schneider, a D. E. P. conservation officer. ''I'm happy to have them around. Every bear we get, we look at it as a positive thing because we didn't have them for a long time. Now they're back and we're going to have to learn how to live with them.''
That shouldn't be as hard as bear-wary residents might imagine. Contrary to popular mythology, black bears are not aggressive. Shy and secretive, they usually travel and feed at night and try to avoid human contact. ''Getting in your car and driving to work every day is probably more dangerous than having bears around your house,'' Mr. Schneider said. ''Mostly when people see them it's a chance encounter -- they're there one minute and gone the next. They're going to avoid you. They don't want to deal with people any more than they have to.''
Nonetheless, encounters are increasing, making some areas a sort of living laboratory in the study of human-animal relations. ''We have the habitat to support more bears,'' Mr. Rego said. ''The question is, do we have the public tolerance?''
There is no record of a bear attack in Connecticut; occasionally a bear has followed a person, having learned that humans can be a source of food. But those relatively rare incidents resulted in nothing worse than jangled nerves and a relocation effort by the D. E. P.
In Winsted, a bear became a questionable presence when a resident who was apparently enamored with the animal began leaving food on his porch. In that case, D. E. P. conservation officers used a barrel-shaped trap baited with a bag of jelly doughnuts. The officers tagged the bear's ear and released it in a different part of the state.
Another bear had to be moved when it began frequenting the backyard of a Harwinton day care center, Mr. Schneider said. And another that repeatedly appeared in Avon was tranquilized and relocated. More frequent are incidents in which wandering bears rummage through garbage cans, tear open beehives and suet containers and upend birdfeeders in search of an easy meal.
Most of the domestic raiders are young bears that have recently left their mother's side in search of their own territory. Bears give birth in their dens during hibernation, usually in January or February. The cubs spend about 18 months with their mothers before striking off on their own as yearlings. Many of those bears end up in beehives or garbage cans. They act like human children in the terrible 2's, Mr. Schneider said.
Such incidents prompt dozens of calls to Mr. Rego's office every spring, he said. But most bears amble off once the temptations are removed and contact with humans increases.
Black bears spend most of their time in the woods, where they feed primarily on grasses, fruit, nuts, berries, insects, eggs and carrion. They occasionally prey on small mammals. The state has the capacity for more bears, and Mr. Rego said he expected the population would grow.
Officials are contemplating the inevitable encounters. Some residents of Connecticut's suburban sprawl seem uncomfortable with the large animals invading their manicured lawns and meticulous gardens. ''Even with the level we have now, we do have citizens who do not want bears near where they live,'' Mr. Rego said. ''We're caught in the middle between citizens who want them around, and want the rare opportunity to see one, and those who are afraid and have concerns about bears -- usually unfounded concerns.''
Not everyone is so apprehensive. Carol Sprano of Watertown was thrilled when a wandering black bear -- probably spooked by her three dogs -- climbed a tree in her back yard this summer. The young bear spent about an hour up there before it slid back down and shuffled off toward Black Rock State Park, she said. ''I look at it this way: we're invading their territory,'' she said. ''They have nowhere to go.''
Some Basics About Bears
Adult bears are five to six feet long and weigh from 100 to 400 pounds; yearlings weigh about 60 pounds. They are typically glossy black or brownish black in color, with a tan muzzle. Black bears have an awkward, shuffling gait, but can run up to 32 miles per hour.
A black bear's body temperature plummets and its heart rate slows during winter hibernation. Bears do not eat or drink once they settle in their dens, which are typically in a hollow log, cave or rocky ledge, under fallen trees or in brush piles. Making dens enables them to overcome bitter winter weather and a lack of food. Females usually begin to give birth at age 3 or 4 and continue to bear young every two years. Mating occurs usually in June or July.
People should not feed bears or make accessible garbage or other edible items. The State Department of Environmental Protection advises residents to remove or empty birdfeeders at the start of spring and to secure beehives with electric fencing. To keep bears out of garbage cans, sprinkle an ammonia solution around the container.
Residents can report bear encounters to the D. E. P.'s 24-hour dispatch center at (860) 424-3333. DAVID HOWARD