Black Bears Seen in Dunstable

As they were heading out early in the morning on August 5th, Jim and Michael Ready thought they saw a cow exiting through a broken gate.  As they drove a little closer, they were surprised to see it was a black bear, ambling across the street and up the embankment, where it stopped to look at them for a few seconds before heading into the woods.

This was not the only time a black bear was seen in Dunstable this summer. There have been three other sightings that were reported to the Police:

1. On August 03, a resident on Pleasant Street saw a bear in their backyard.
2. On August 05 around 8:00 p.m., a bear was seen in the area of Pleasant Street and Depot Street and also on Hollis Street.
3. On August 06 around 6:35 a.m., a resident of Groton Street reported that she saw a black bear near her horse barn eating the horse's grain. She described the bear as being the size of a very large dog.

On each of these occasions, the Police checked the area, but were unable to make a sighting. By the time the sighting was reported, the bear had moved on. The Dunstable Police Department will continue to monitor bear sightings and act according to the interests of public safety.

These events are part of a pattern of more frequent bear sightings in this area over the past few years. This summer, there have been a number of reports of black bear sightings in surrounding communities, with several instances occurring in Groton.

Avoiding contact with bears:

• Bears are wild animals that are likely to perceive a human approaching them as a threat, even if you're being friendly. Never approach a bear.
• Bears tend to avoid human contact. So, if you make a lot of noise by singing or talking when you are out in the woods, bears will most likely keep their distance.
• If possible, avoid having potential sources of food that may draw hungry animals close to your house or the yard where your kids play. This includes food scraps in compost piles, pet food, and berries. The more bears are able to find food around houses, the more likely it is that they'll go looking for food around houses.
• Black bears are omnivorous and feed on a wide range of foods, depending on what is available. However, the bulk of their diet consists of insects (ants and bees), nuts, berries, acorns, grasses, roots, and other vegetation. Black bears are relatively ineffective predators, and seldom capture larger prey. On rare occasions, they may prey on deer fawns, moose calves, and beaver. They rarely attack people, unless provoked.

If you encounter a bear:

• Always remain calm and avoid sudden movements.
• If you spot a bear and the bear is unaware of you, walk away quickly and quietly.
• If spotted by a bear, try to get its attention while it is a good distance away. Help the bear to recognize that you are human, by talking to it in a normal voice or waving your arms. In most cases, once a bear figures out that you are a human,  the bear will walk away. If a bear cannot tell what you are, it may come closer or stand on its hind legs to get a better look or smell. A standing bear is usually curious, not threatening.
• Never run from a bear. Running may elicit a chase from an otherwise non-aggressive bear, and since they can run faster than 30 mph, you have no chance of outrunning them. Climbing a tree will do you no good, since most bears can climb trees.
• Never feed or toss food to a bear.
• If you are pursued by a bear, throw something onto the ground (like a camera) as it may be distracted by the object, which would allow you to escape.
• If you carry pepper spray, be sure that you know how to use it on a bear before trusting it during an attack.

Recognizing a Black Bear

This medium-sized bear is usually black with a brown muzzle, lacks a shoulder hump, and often has a white patch on the chest. Males range in length from 50-75 inches and can weigh between 130-660 pounds. Females are similar in size, but are lighter weight between 90-175 pounds. Although black is the predominant color, chocolate and cinnamon brown color phases are also common, which often results in people confusing them with brown bears. Black bears have strong, highly curved claws and the profile of the face is convex when compared with the more concave profile of a brown bear or grizzly.

All bear sightings in urban and suburban areas should be reported to the Environmental Police for monitoring purposes.

Bear attacks throughout the country are quite rare, especially when the proper precautions are taken.

REFERENCES/LINKS
Mass Wild Life - Black Bears in Massachusetts
Bear Safety Tips on About.com
American black bear. The International Association for Bear Research and Management (2003).