Paws Off: Police Say Bear Entered Home’s Sunroom; Put Paw on Gardener
On June 23, 2021, there were multiplesightings of the same bear in the northern part of town.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., Westport Police officers as well as the animal control officer responded to a home on Highland Roadon a report of a bear in the yard. After it departed that location,it went to a second home on the same road and reportedly put his paw on an individual who was outside gardening. However, the bear did not act aggressively towards this person nor was the man injured.
The animal finally ended up on Warnock Drive where it entered an unoccupied sun porch. By the time the animal control officer arrived the bear had left the sunroom and was sitting in the yard. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded and assisted with monitoring the bear’s activities. It was last seen heading west towards Weston.
Peter Reid, Westport’s Assistant Animal Control Officer, stressed that the bear was acting normally and not behaving in an aggressive manner. However, ACO Reid cautioned against getting too close to the bear to photograph or record it as you would not want to make it feel cornered or trapped.
At this time, there is no indication that the bear poses a threat to the community, but common-sense precautions should be taken. As stated in an earlier release, it is a good idea to take down bird feeders for the summer as bears are attracted to them. Additionally, grills and outdoor dining tables should be cleaned with a diluted bleach solution after each use as the smell of the food also attracts bears.
Bear sightings can be reported to Westport Animal Control at (203) 341-5076 or reported to DEEP via this link: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/187a8a495d4e4ca497261d163d6fffc9