Woman describes moments after bear rips open garage door
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AVON, Connecticutt (WFSB) — It’s that time of the year where more and more people are starting to see bears walking around their yards.
In fact, a family in Avon got an unpleasant surprise visit recently when a bear ripped their garage door right open.
“I was actually inside, and I hear a sound and I thought it was a squirrel and I came to the front and probably a good chunk of the door was gone,” Rose Louizos described.
Thankfully there were no injuries, but Avon police said on Tuesday morning, and for the second time this month, a bear broke into a car and damaged the interior.
Monday night it was the garage, and last week it was a shed where a bear attacked some chickens.
The Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said so far in 2021 there have been more than 800 bear sightings reported.
DEEP has reported an increase of bear sightings over the past few years, and just this year, more than 90 bear sightings in Avon, 84 in Simsbury, and 14 in Hamden. They did say some of those could be duplicates.
“Bears just woke up in the last few weeks. What we are seeing now is pretty typical of this time of year where sightings of bears increase. They are up hungry and looking for food source,” said Will Healey, of the Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Healey said people should keep any human and pet food inside and secure. They should also hide bird feeders, livestock, and garbage.
If a bear comes close, Healey said “It’s good to make the bear aware of your presence. Make loud noises. The worst thing to do is surprise it and it gets on defense side. So, if you make loud noises and it sees you it will usually ignore you.”
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