Officers observed a black bear, weighing more than 300 pounds, in the area of #48 Blue Hills Rd. that had knocked over a bird feeder and was simply snacking away. Sgt. Menard requested that the Environmental Police respond to the area due to the proximity of the bear to the homes and the downtown area. Environmental Police Officer Unaitis and Connecticut Valley Wildlife District Manager Ralph Taylor arrived in the area around 8:30 am. The large black bear was located at 10:40 am, and it was tranquilized so it could be moved to a safe location. The bear was soundly and safely sleeping approximately 15 minutes after being tranquilized. Officers were able to move the bear without incident.
5 comments:
Great blog post! Where do you bring bears, generally, that have been transported from town?
In the interest of the bears, "to an undisclosed location" would be a good answer to Mary's question.
Correct, what the Environmental Police told us was that the animal was going to an undisclosed location.
Why is the location undisclosed? Would someone pursue it and hurt it? Do some hunt the bears in this area? I was one of the people who saw and reported it on Monday. Quite shocking to walk out my side door and see this huge black bear rambling up our backyard path around my garage, about 15 feet from the door. But I would feel terrible if it was hurt. It had absolutely no interest in me, or my two startled cats. Must have been disappointed that the squirrels had already emptied our bird feeder.
a neighbor on sunset
The Environmental Police did not disclose to us the location that the bear was moved to. I am not sure of their reasoning. While bear sightings are common in Amherst, they are rarely aggressive. Moving these animials from residential neighborhoods are more for the safety of the bear than the citizens.
Post a Comment