Black Bear Sighting in Guilford - But Take a Closer Look

GUILFORD, CT - Black bear sightings are up all over the state of Connecticut.

There’s a new sighting - in Guilford - but there’s no reason to be fearful of this one, because it’s not real.

The bear was made by Jared Welcome who runs JareBear Carvings.

He said he delivered the black bear to a “super nice family” in Guilford. Jared said the bear is 4-feet tall and was made out of a pine tree.

Jared said he is “self taught” and has been carving for five years. “I didn’t take art classes or anything like that.”

He said he sold his first carving on Craigslist and sells most of his work and finds most of his clients through social media postings.

He said he does small jobs - like doing family pets on trees that don’t cost very much - to very big jobs that can run thousands of dollars depending on how extensive and big the carving work is.

Jared lives in Hamden and is originally from Winsted “which is where I learned to use a chainsaw.”

He is also a teacher.

Part of what brings him work, he said, is repurposing trees that have been taken down by storms that have hit the area - which has been a particular issue the past few months.

Photos provided by Jared Welcome