Bear Seen in Danbury Near Town Park

DANBURY - The News Times reported Monday that a large bear was seen walking near the P.A.L. building on Hayestown Road near the Danbury Town Park. Police responded shortly after 11 a.m., the paper reported.

Patch editor Chris Dehnel reported that there have been more than 4,000 sightings in the past year. DEEP Communications Director Dennis Schain said, "You just never know when you’re going to see a bear in Connecticut, but you can definitely see one." Schain said they are all black bears and about 700 of them live in Connecticut.

Fifteen communities in the state have more than 100 sightings in the past year. (See below for a town-by-town look at sightings in Connecticut over the past year.)

"It’s funny because when you think of Connecticut, you think of some pretty densely populated areas," Schain said. "Say we are in Bridgeport, but if we travel a few miles up the road, we can be in some pretty thick woods. The same goes for a lot of places in the state. Bears can encounter people here. It’s the unique makeup of Connecticut."

“The best thing to do is keep your distance - enjoy the bear safely,” Schain said. “If you do see one, call the local animal control or the DEEP directly.”

In the past year, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says there have been 4,674 bear sightings in Connecticut. For a breakdown from most to least sightings see below:

1. Avon, 439
2. Burlington, 315
3. Farmington, 284
4. Simsbury, 218
5. Torrington, 171
6. Canton, 149
7. Southbury, 141
8. Winchester, 141
9. West Hartford, 136
10. Windsor, 131
11. New Milford, 119
12. Granby, 114
13. Woodbury, 113
14. Newtown, 106
15. Bloomfield, 103
16. Thomaston, 93
17. Barkhamsted, 90
18. Oxford, 83
19. Middlebury, 76
20. Litchfield, 73
21. Bristol, 72
22. Suffield, 65
23. Watertown, 61
24. New Hartford, 60
25. Harwington, 56
26. Redding, 55
27. Southington, 53
28. East Granby, 43
29. Hartland, 41
30. Roxbury, 39
31. Monroe, 37
32. Bethlehem, 36
33. Stafford, 36
34. Wilton, 35
35. Plymouth, 35
36. Plainview, 33
37. Sharon, 32
38. Goshen, 30
39. Warren, 29
40. Danbury, 28
41. Kent, 28
42. New Britain, 27
43. Windsor Locks, 23
44. New Fairfield, 23
45. Brookfield, 22
46. Cornwall, 22
47. Washington, 22
48. Norfolk, 20
49. Sherman, 19
50. Easton, 19
51. Ridgefield, 18
52. Wolcott, 17
53. Bridgewater, 17
54. Canaan, 16
55. Morris, 16
56. Salisbury, 16
57. Weston, 16
58. Waterbury, 14
59. Chester, 14
60. Colebrook, 13
61. Enfield, 10
62. Willington, 10
63. Ashford, 9
64. Berlin, 9
65. Bethany, 9
66. Cheshire, 9
67. New Canaan, 9
68. Stratford, 9
69. Woodstock
70. Essex, 8
71. Naugatuck, 8
72. North Stonington, 8
73. Deep River, 7
74. Greenwich, 7
75. Haddam, 7
76. Hartford, 7
77. Somers, 7
78. Tolland, 7
79. Ellington, 6
80. Fairfield, 6
81. South Windsor, 6
82. Plainfield, 5
83. Seymour, 5
84. Bethel, 4
85. Groton, 4
86. Hamden, 4
87. Ledyard, 4
88. Madison, 4
89. North Canaan, 4
90. Trumbull, 4
91. Union, 4
92. Voluntown, 4
93. Windham, 4
94. Beacon Falls, 3
95. Killingworth, 3
96. Lebanon, 3
97. Middletown, 3
98. Sterling, 3
99. Wallingford, 3
100. Westport, 3
101. Woodbridge, 3
102. Branford, 2
103. Colchester, 2
104. Columbia, 2
105. Durham, 2
106. East Haven, 2
107. Glastonbury, 2
108. Griswold, 2
109. Manchester, 2
110. Meriden, 2
111. North Haven, 2
112. Norwalk, 2
113. Portland, 2
114. Preston, 2
115. Rocky Hill, 2
116. Stamford, 2
117. Thompson, 2
118. Vernon, 2
119. Bozrah, 1
120. Brooklyn, 1
121. Chaplin, 1
122. Derby, 1
123. East Haddam, 1
124. East Hampton, 1
125. East Hartford, 1
126. East Windsor, 1
127. Franklin, 1
128. Guilford, 1
129. Hebron, 1
130. Mansfield, 1
131. Marlborough, 1
132. Milford, 1
133. North Haven, 1
134. North Branford, 1
135. Old Saybrook, 1
136. Prospect, 1
137. Putnam, 1
138. Salem, 1
139. Wethersfield, 1

Read more here.

Photo Credit: Paul Fusco/CT DEEP-Wildlife