WINSTED, Conn. (WFSB) – Bear sightings are on the rise across Connecticut, especially in the northwest.
In CantonA bear was killed after breaking into several houses.
On Monday, a Winsted woman found a bear in her home.
Shannon Davis said she went home and did not suspect anything out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until she saw her cat sitting outside staring at the window that she thought something was wrong.
“It was just a weird look by the cat and I didn’t notice the screen was outside and I saw a black figure walking past the window,” Davis said.
She said the bear broke into her house through the window and into the kitchen.
“It’s almost like what’s for dinner,” says Davis.
Then she ran to her neighbor and asked for his help.
“He started banging on the door over there. The bear got into my room and climbed out of my window,” Davis said.
The bear finally found its way out the back door. Davis says there hasn’t been much damage from the incident.
“There was a lollipop stuck to the carpet. It pulls out the tray of food.” BUTTON 3:31 “It was pulled to the edge but there was just a packet of vanilla muffins and those dots and that was it,” Davis said.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) says bear populations are steadily increasing every year, but by 2022 their number of calls for bear problems has increased to 20%.
“This is a pretty big increase for us,” said Colonel Chris Lewis of the Environmental Conservation Police.
Lewis says keeping food sources away from bears is paramount to keeping them away.
“The biggest thing we want to tell people is that bears are attracted to food, so get rid of the food source and bears have no reason to come into your yard, into your house,” Lewis said.
Officials say if you see a bear in your home or neighborhood, call DEEP.
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