As you may of heard on the Monday night news Enfield had a black bear sighting.
My sighting was sunday.
I was working out back getting ready to move the old shed. I happened to hear what sounded to be something large walking in the woods (leaves crunching)

He found the bird feeder


and made quick work of it

after the meal he made his way to the drop seeder that was sitting behind the roller

It was cool to actually see one. I never thought it would be in my back yard

Springtime! Black bears have woken from their hibernation and for weeks they will eat anything that doesn't move (and some small things that do).

This one is a tagged bear ~ (s)he is known to your local CT forest service office. They are unpredictable tho, and not to be taken lightly. The biggest danger is if it's a cub, still with its mommy. While you're focused on the cute little bear, the mom might be nearby, thinking you're a threat.

Great experience tho! Makes for some interesting stories. Did the neighborhood dogs alert to this?

(Carl and Jimbo could probably send pictures of alligators in their back yards! . I only get deer and skunks )

Frank Your absolutely right..
1st encounter was waaay to close. My Wife being from Maine said he looked a little small and we distanced ourselves immediatly. Thinking momma was close by.
He was about 1-1.5 years old according to the news on Monday
We never heard any dogs. Our Jack Russel being the tough guy he is only barks when he is behind glass. Was most likely was curled up on the couch soaking up the sun

Honey (our little yellow Lab female) has got to make friends with every
person, every dog, and every other animal she sees, much less meets.

I'm not going any farther with this post.
~Rick~

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All Z Best,.......Kathy & Rick

1969 Z.CAR (#00013 10/69) 8/30/76
1969 ITSA.Z (#00171 11/69) 8/24/73
1970 OLD.Z (#06289 6/70) original owner
1971 510 2dr since 12/31/75
1969 1600 rdstr (our 160-Z)
1971 (#19851 1/71) sold
1975 75.Z (#01343 1/75)

Sad news .. After the bear was transferred. He turned up in Tolland Ct. Seems he got into someone's yard hit a couple more bird feeders. (FREE FOOD)
Not sure what happened between DEP and the bear. They claim he got aggressive and shot him. Although I dont doubt it. I cant say that I blame the bear he was poked prodded and transported a couple times. I would be getting upset as well.

I saw this news on TV, and thought of you immediately. I wanted to write something about it here right away, but the past three days have been a whirlwind here and it escaped me.

Sorry about your woodsy friend. Glad the DEP officer wasn't hurt. Another thing they have to consider is how the bear might react to dogs and kids they might encounter in private yards. Youngsters laughing and running around shouting (and certainly barking dogs) can really agitate black bears. Most will run away, but if they become aggressive instead, the results are seldom good.

I'm reminded of the CT guy who was clearing his backyard perimeter with a weedwhacker a few years ago, and got attacked by a Lynx, just 30ft from his kids' swingset and playhouse. He used the weedwhacker to kill the cat, but not before getting pretty mauled himself.

In my neighborhood we have a Fishercat, a black bear and a PUMA I have seen the cat and the puma, and heard from all my neighbors about the bear.

I also saw a wolf (not a coyote ~ I know the difference) less than a mile from my home. I stopped at a 4-way intersection at 2AM, and the wolf trotted directly thru the intersection in my headlights.

you guys haven't seen anything until you've seen this crazy animal in my yard and in my house and in my bedroom. it's a pitbull named trish. she is 100 pounds of vicious female i have been putting up with for 24 years !! she is 4-10, but thinks she is 7-0 and shows her teeth to me every day. however , she is a good cook, as you guys can see, and she goes to work every day- half heartedly! dep would have a field day on this one!! lol!!

Frank, C'mon you saw a Puma, a.k.a Mountain Lion in the middle of the state ? DEP has been beating down those stories for decades. They'd explain it as an obese Bobcat who has had one too many burgers from your grill.

As for the wolf story, I find it entirely possible. I saw a huge animal out one night in Simsbury. This was no coyote or fox, or dog for that matter. This was one large wolf who had this look of "go ahead make my day" look on his puss.

There was an Emu that escaped some farm several years ago. Caused a stir as people spotted him running in the woods.

Gotta love sharing those animal stories so along as they leave our treasured cars alone.

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2005 350Z Grand Touring Convertible

kevinr funny you should comment on DEP and the mountain Lion. I had that conversation with them at Cabellas. I was told I had better chance of seeing a ghost.
When we got home the local reminder was hanging off the mailbox. Guess what was on the front page ? Sightings in Suffield Ct

*** Rumor I heard, Mountain Lions were introduced back into the area to thin out the deer. A good thought at the time but not good for the rest of us. There for DEP will denys to they exist in Ct***

Yup!

My mountain lion (Puma) sighting was over the Christmas holiday. I was loading packages into my trunk at the rear dock area of a building, which had a RR track running behind it. I looked up and saw the Puma walking casually along the track, headed North. I watched it for nearly a minute at dusk. The visibility was good and there was no mistake about it. Less than 20 minutes later I passed a CT State Trooper parked outside a restaurant less than 300yrds from my sighting. I swung in and reported it to him. Together we walked to the RR track and looked in the (old) snow for tracks. He told me he had never seen one, but had heard casual reports of them.

The Fishercat is a weird animal which I had never heard of before moving to CT. They look like a dog-sized weasel but are members of the cat family. I understand 39 of them were released in CT about 5 yrs ago to help control pests. They're very shy and seldom seen (altho we saw one walk thru my neighbor's yard twice in a single month). They scream at night like nothing you've ever heard. Sounds like a baby being eaten by sharks. Wakes the whole house up and frequently generates 9-1-1 calls to the police about 'somebody being ripped to shreds', etc.

Only ever saw an Emu at the zoo!