Derby resident Kira McLoughlin said a full-grown black bear wandered into her yard on Silver Hill Road Sunday morning.
It was one of many sightings of a black bear in the area this weekend.
Derby police said they received calls from people who said they also spotted a black bear in the areas of Roosevelt Drive, Hawthorne Avenue, Lakeview Terrace and Cullen’s Hill Road, according to Lt. Justin Stanko.
“This was a big one,” McLoughlin said of the bear.
It came through her back yard, and then went into the woods near Osbornedale State Park after hearing barking dogs in the neighborhood, McLoughlin said.
McLoughlin was inside at the time, and said she wasn’t scared.
Stanko said police officers did not see the bear, but they notified the state Department of Environmental Protection about the sightings.
Connecticut has 300 to 500 black bears, according to the DEP.
Most of the sightings happen in the northwestern quarter of the state, but sightings come from all over Connecticut, especially now that it is mating season and male bears are up and around, said Paul Rego, DEP wildlife biologist.
“Many times the bear is just traveling through,” Rego said.
In 2008, several bear sightings were reported in Seymour, but the DEP had suspected that bear moved on to another state.
The bear sighting wasn’t the only weird animal call police received last week. On Friday, Ansonia police received calls about a dozen sheep possibly roaming on the Ansonia-Derby border near Hull Street, according to Ansonia Police Lt. Andrew Cota.
The animal control officer never found them, Cota said.
“We got calls they were heading toward Hull Street in Ansonia, but the dog warden never located anything,” Cota said.
Stanko, in Derby, said he was unaware of the sheep incident.
Bear Advice
If you see a bear, DEP wildlife biologist Paul Rego had the following advice:
- Do not try to get near it.
- Make noise so it knows you are there.
- If it does not run when you make noise, take cover in your home or a vehicle.
- Remove all bird feeders and all other possible sources of food that may attract the bear.
