DEERFIELD — Black bears are notoriously bold, but this year, they seem to be more unafraid than usual.
According to Adam Sokoloski, a police officer with the town, the dispatch center has been overflowing with calls from residents reporting bear sightings.
“The bears seem to be active this year,” he said. “People are seeing them, and they’re giving us a call.”
Since Independence Day weekend, Sokoloski said the department has received about 10 to 15 reports of people who spotted bears.
A Facebook post by the department alerted local residents to the increase in sightings, and reminded members of the community that “the only time you need to ring us is if the bear is trying to get inside your house.”
On Thursday, Sokoloski reiterated that the department isn’t worried about bears that aren’t an immediate danger to the community.
“We won’t follow up on a report of a stolen bird feeder if the suspect is a bear,” Sokoloski said. “The bear population is good, and there’s nothing we’re gonna do about a bear walking through the landscape.”
Andrew Madden, western district manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said that part of the reason bears seem more active than usual is because of the time of year.
“This is the time of year, we see a lot of bears because it’s peak activity for breeding,” he said. “And during this time there’s a bit of a food gap between spring and summer.”
If a bear has found food at a place once, Madden said it could return at another time looking for food. He said the best way to make bears go away is to remove food sources such as bird feeders, trash and grills from the yard.
“The number one thing to do is to remove whatever reward the bear is getting,” he said, adding that people can also make noise and harass the bear to get it to move along.
“We encourage people to assert some authority over their property,” Madden continued. “If you can accompany that with some mild hazing to make the bear know it’s not a welcome visitor, that usually works.”
At least part of the reason why bear encounters are so frequent, Madden said, is because people are reluctant to adapt to living in bear country.
Similar rules apply if someone happens across a bear while outside of the house. Madden said the best thing to do in the event of a bear encounter outside the house, is to make noise and slowly back away.
“Bears are generally pretty reliable in moving away,” he said, adding people can also hold up items to make themselves look bigger and stand together if in a group.
That being said, if a bear does more than just pass through the neighborhood or poke around for food, Sokoloski said it’s a good idea to call the police.
“That’s the only time that would prompt a response from us,” he said, “if it was trying to get into someone’s house.”
According to Madden, the bears should move on to other food sources soon that aren’t near houses.
“June has been a bit of a lean month for them food-wise,” he said. “But we should see a drop in bear sightings in the coming weeks.”
You can reach Andy Castillo at: acastillo@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 263
On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo