Have you ever caught sight of a black bear in your backyard? In recent weeks, residents of South Windsor have reported an increase in black bear sightings, stirring up curiosity and worry within the community. As these huge creatures wander closer to populated areas, concerns have been raised among South Windsor residents in regards to living near these potentially dangerous animals.
Bear sightings and conflicts have increased in Connecticut over the past five years. In 2024 alone, 159 cities in Connecticut reported bear sightings and 3,000 bear conflicts, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). In addition, there were 68 documented bear home entries, a record high for the state.
South Windsor High School junior, Meghan Foster, recently saw a bear in her backyard, climbing a tree on Sunday, March 30th.
“We have never had this happen before, but my grandma lives next door and there was a bear there last year,” Foster said. “The bear opened the trash can in the front yard, took a sealed bag of bird food that my mom stored in a trash barrel, and dragged it to the backyard to open it and eat it. Our thoughts were immediately concerned about our dogs because we have three and we always let them in the back yard to roam freely because it is fenced in, but now the bear was stuck inside the fenced in yard.”
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Bear sighting in the backyard of Meghan Foster on March 30th. (Meghan Foster)
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Drivers pulled over to watch the bear from a distance on the hill.
Thankfully, there are a number of easy ways to avoid potential encounters with bears.
Typically, bears do not approach human-populated areas, but they are attracted to sites with lots of easy access food nearby such as human food, pet food, and birdseed.
To avoid attracting bears to your home, try not to leave food and/or recycling outside, as this is easy for bears to access and it can cause more of them to come to your area.
If you see a bear, do not engage it. Try scaring it away by making loud noises and waving your arms at it.
To report a bear sighting, call the police department or animal control.
