Police Relocate Bear Seen Attacking Chickens, Wandering In North Reading Area

NORTH READING, MA — Police in North Reading immobilized and relocated a black bear on Sunday that they said had likely been spotted in multiple area communities in recent weeks.

The bear, police said, was recently seen attacking chickens on Foley Drive in North Reading on Sunday morning. Other calls reported sightings in Haverhill Street and Glowing Lane, also in North Reading. As this was the latest in a string of bear calls throughout the past month, police said they called Massachusetts Environmental Police to aid in an eventual capture.

Come 5 p.m. on Sunday, with Environmental Police on hand, another call came in the area of Hill Street, allowing police to move in and safely transport the bear to a more suitable wooded location.

North Reading Police Chief Michael Murphy thanked Environmental Police for their help in this response.

“Bears do not necessarily pose a threat to the community,” he said in a statement on Monday. “But we ask residents who see a bear to not interact with it or track it, but to call our department immediately. In this instance, the biggest danger is that a bear will learn to associate human activity and domestic poultry as food sources.”

Outside of North Reading, community members in Woburn and Danvers have reported bear sightings in recent weeks and days.

MassWildlife separately warned in a recent article that drought conditions could prompt an uptick in bear sightings as bears push deeper into residential areas looking for food.

“While believed to be the same bear seen in numerous Middlesex County and Essex County communities in the past few weeks, residents are urged to remain vigilant as authorities have no way of ascertaining that fact, as black bears are native to the area and multiple bears are spotted in the area each year,” North Reading police said on Monday.

Police shared multiple tips to stay safe from bears. Those can be seen here.