Bear Breaks Into Home, Scares Napping Teen, Steals Food: Weird News & Oddities

Encounters with bears are becoming so common in Simsbury, Connecticut, that folks probably wouldn’t be surprised to see a bear on the municipal elections ballot this November.

Were this cartoon in the bubble over your head to take place in real life, the least shocked of all would be a local family who had an encounter with a gutsy bear that broke into their home. Imagining the bear running the town council is a whimsical distraction, but it can’t possibly beat what happened in real life.

The bear scared the living daylights out of a 17-year-old girl trying to catch a nap. She hid in the closet. This wasn’t good, she told herself. She used her head and called 911 as the bear ambled around ransacking the house.

Authorities scared the bear away, and the girl was unharmed. Police said the bear likely pushed out a window air conditioner or walked through an open door.

Bears are busy fattening themselves for their winter hibernation, and Connecticut residents should do what they can to avoid encounters with them, authorities advised.

• Read more: Bear Scares The Living Daylights Out Of Napping 17-Year-Old

Speaking Of Bears …

A 175-pound black bear has been euthanized after it bit a 90-year-old woman shopping at a Dollar General store in Vernon, New Jersey.

The bear had wandered into the store from the Mountain Dispensary next door. There, the bear attacked the owner’s dog and chased away two of his employees.

The same bear had been seen two hours earlier “behaving erratically and moving in and out of traffic” and police shot it with rubber bullets and sent it back into the woods, authorities said.

Police euthanized the bear after the attacks at the dollar store and dispensary. The 90-year-old woman whose leg was bitten was treated at a nearby hospital for minor injuries, and the dog was taken to a veterinarian. The bear was tested for rabies.

The incidents sparked an online conversation about the township’s dumpster policies. In a video, one resident said restaurants and businesses that leave their dumpsters open and unlocked should be ticketed and fined.

“It’s not fair to the bears — or the people who live here,” the person said.

• Read more: Bear Killed After Biting Woman In NJ Dollar Store
• Also this: Rabies Tests Results Reported On Bear That Bit Woman

Citizen Scientists Find Ghost Ship

One of Lake Michigan’s most elusive shipwrecks has finally been found after nearly 140 years.

The Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Association recently announced the discovery of the schooner F.J. King, which sank during a storm off Baileys Harbor in September 1886. The 144-foot, three-masted wooden schooner was carrying iron ore from Escanaba, Michigan, to Chicago when heavy seas opened her seams.

Search efforts date back to the 1970s, with incentives including a $1,000 reward from a local dive club. But the wreck was never located.

People fishing the waters have snagged pieces of the sunken ship in their nets, and a lighthouse keeper claimed to have seen its masts poking through the surface. Still, searches always came up empty.

That changed earlier this summer when volunteer citizen scientists at WUAA deployed new sonar equipment near the area reported by the Cana Island Lighthouse keeper in 1886.

Within hours, they spotted a 140-foot-long object later confirmed to be the F.J. King. It remained intact and was resting in about 150 feet of water.

“After all the previous searches, we couldn’t believe we had actually found it, and so quickly,” principal investigator Brendon Baillod said in a news release.

• Read more: Citizen Scientists Discover Elusive Lake Michigan Shipwreck

Live WWII Artillery Shell Turns Up In Garage

A Gloucester, Massachusetts, resident found a live World War II artillery shell while cleaning out his garage on a recent morning, police said.

The 75 mm shell was safely detonated by the State Police Bomb Squad in a wooded area near the Gloucester compost site.

Gloucester Police Chief Edward Conley commended the resident for having the presence of mind to call the police after finding the shell.

“This resident did the right thing by contacting us to handle the ammunition, and we are thankful that because of their decision, we were able to safely resolve the situation,” Conley said in a news release.

“It could have ended differently if they had tried to dispose of it on their own,” he said. “If anyone finds something suspicious or unfamiliar on their property, I urge them to contact us so we can ensure it is handled safely.”

• Read more: Live World War II Ammunition Found In Garage

A Record For Yogi Berra

A new world record was set Sunday at Yogi Berra Stadium on the campus of Montclair State University when 2,358 baseball fans came together for “Yogi’s Big Catch Challenge.” The event was witnessed by a Guinness World Record adjudicator and 37 stewards who monitored the field.

To nail down the record, every participant had to keep up their game of catch for a full five minutes. Luckily, they didn’t have to worry about perfection, organizers said: “dropping the ball is part of playing catch.”

Several sports notables joined in the effort, including event emcee Bob Costas, past New York Yankee greats Ron Guidry and Willie Randolph, and National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum president Josh Rawitch. Meanwhile, Yankee organist Ed Alstrom provided classic stadium accompaniment, along with a DJ spinning fan-favorite tunes.

After setting the record, hundreds of participants lined up to visit the museum free of charge and be photographed alongside Berra’s Hall of Fame plaque, which was on loan for one day only from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum – possibly the first time the plaque had left its home in Cooperstown since the late sports icon was elected in 1972.

• Read more: Thousands Of NJ Baseball Fans Break Record To Honor Yogi Berra

Kangaroo Causes A Stir

A pet kangaroo caused a stir recently in Edgewater, Maryland, leaving government agencies to figure out what's next for the mammal.

“I’ve been in sheltering for a few decades now, and I've long learned I’ve never seen it all,” Anne Arundel County Animal Services Director Claudia Roll told Patch.

When authorities tracked down the kangaroo, it appeared to be in good health and have sufficient room to hop around in behind a wire fence. The marsupial also appeared to have shelter from the elements.

Authorities did not seize the kangaroo because they’re not expressly prohibited in Maryland law. However, Anne Arundel County does require permits for exotic animals such as kangaroos, and the owner was given sufficient time to obtain one.

“The kangaroo seems just fine,” Roll said. “There’s no reason to take the kangaroo for the kangaroo’s welfare.”

• Read more: Pet Kangaroo Hopping Around Anne Arundel County Causes A Stir

This Cat’s A Long Way From Home

So, a cat from Bermuda — a feline, not a cool, stylish gent — showed up at an Amazon facility on Long Island and no one’s quite sure how he got there.

He was looking anything but cool and stylish. Employees took pity on the tabby, and began feeding him to keep his belly full. They named him Frankie.

His ties to Bermuda were discovered by animal rescuer John Debacker, who scanned Frankie’s microchip and learned he hailed from the island paradise thousands of miles away.

Debacker told Patch it’s unclear if Frankie was a stowaway, if he was accidentally shipped to New York, or exactly how he ended up in the Amazon warehouse in Holbrook.

Whatever the reason, Frankie would have a cat tale to tell if he could talk.

“He’s had such an adventure,” Debacker said.

• Read the Patch Exclusive: If Only Frankie Could Talk, What A Tale He Would Tell

‘Here Mayor-Mayor’

If you want an appointment with the long-haired black cat Minerva while walking a popular Somerville, Massachusetts, trail, the correct call isn’t “here kitty-kitty.”

It’s “here Mayor-Mayor,” at least for the next year.

Minerva was just named “Mayor of the Somerville Community Path,” beating out more than a dozen other pets, including other cats, a chihuahua, a tortoise, a guinea pig and a parrot.

Berry, a 3-year-old black and white cat with a distinct smudge on his nose, was considered the incumbent of the race, due to his frequent presence on the trail. Berry’s first challenger was Orange Cat, whose owner resident Janet McNamara jokingly said Berry earned her position without a free and fair election.

• Read more: Call This Cat ‘Your Honor’

Art Heist In Broad Daylight

Under the glare of daylight, someone stole a 20-by-10-foot mural from Central Square in Cambridge, according to police.

This heist of the mural, which depicts a diverse group of pedestrians standing outside the arcade in a neon and futuristic-looking landscape, didn’t just occur when anyone could have seen it.

The thief had to take the time to cut the mural from its mounting on the side of DX Arcade, according to owner Sean Hope.

Detectives are reviewing surveillance footage with the hopes of identifying the culprit.

• Read more: An Art Heist In Broad Daylight

Swim-And-Grab Robbery

A thief who swam up to the Paddlefish restaurant in Disney Springs, Florida, ditched his scuba gear long enough to steal about $10,000, and then slipped back into his wetsuit and swam away, according to police.

The thief walked into the manager’s office after the midnight swim on the morning of Sept. 16 and stole the money from two employees who were counting cash before putting it in the safe, police said.

He was back in his wetsuit in minutes, they added.

• Read more: Swim-And-Grab Robbery At Disney Springs Restaurant