The adult black bear and its cub were thrashing around inside a car. The radio was booming and the horn was honking. A second cub raced around by the Connecticut house, seemingly distressed, just outside the car.
The astonished owner of the vehicle called state environmental conservation police early on July 15. After they unlocked a door, the three bears and the other two bears safely fled into the woods. Not so lucky was the interior of the car, which was entirely destroyed.
The owner of the car recorded images of the bears inside the vehicle and the ensuing damage on a cellphone, documenting the incident near Winsted, in the northwest region of the state, not far from Massachusetts.
Although it’s unclear how the door closed after they entered the car, officials think they did so by opening one.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in Connecticut has released information about three bear-related incidents in the last week, which is indicative of the state’s growing black bear population.
A black bear bit a woman on Saturday in a Cheshire property, according to reports. According to officials, she had minor injuries but refused medical attention. The bear was located by environmental conservation officers, who then put it to death. It was then removed for testing.
A car struck and killed a black bear that weighed about 500 pounds (227 kg) on a Torrington highway on Sunday, according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Although bears have long been known to break into homes, cars, and trash cans in the western United States, these kinds of occurrences were uncommon in Connecticut a few decades ago. They’re becoming more and more common.
A person in Canton shot and killed a black bear in June, claiming to be acting in self-defense. A bear scampered into an Avon bakery last year, startled the staff, and proceeded to eat sixty cupcakes before strolling out. A bear in Cornwall in 2022 caused damage to the interiors of two cars.
Additionally, over the previous two years, a few non-fatal bear assaults on people have been reported in the state, and more and more bears are breaking into residences, according to state officials.
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“Always keep your car doors locked if bears occur in your area and never allow them easy access to human-sourced food,” stated a statement from Ethan Van Ness, a senior adviser at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
According to state officials, bears have been reentering the area since the 1980s, and their numbers have been growing ever since. There are currently between 1,000 and 1,200 bears in Connecticut, with reports of sightings in all 169 towns in recent years, however the northwest portion of the state has seen the highest concentration of bears.
