A path between Bugbee Elementary School and Cliffmore Road in West Hartford remains blocked off from access through the school parking lot.

By Ronni Newton

West Hartford Public Schools administrators, West Hartford Police, and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) have all been on the trail of what appears to be one large black bear that has been hanging out in neighborhoods close to several schools.

Lt. Eric Rocheleau of the West Hartford Police Department’s Community Relations Division said that although bears have been seen in the vicinity of the Town’s schools in the past, this week there have been multiple sightings near Hall, Norfeldt, and Bugbee.

“It’s kind of unusual, and unsettling to parents,” Rocheleau said. He believes that the reports received this week are all of the same bear.

“It’s a big bear,” said Rocheleau, not a cub. DEEP chased a bear from the Hall High School and Norfeldt Elementary School neighborhood on Monday, and Rocheleau said it ran off to the south, toward the Bugbee area. That bear, which does not appear to have been tagged, had been photographed eating trash, and even bouncing on a trampoline. Postings about the bear on Facebook do not indicate that it has shown any aggressive behavior, and Rocheleau said it has not gone after anyone but it does seem comfortable around humans.

DEEP should  be notified of all bear sightings, and West Hartford Police also want to be made aware when a bear is near a school, Rocheleau said.

“We received several calls about the bear in area around Bugbee School and have been in close contact with local officials about it,” DEEP spokesperson Dennis Schain said in an email. “While it had been actively searching for food, the bear had not displayed aggressive behavior and we continue to monitor the situation,” he said.

Bugbee administrators blocked off a path through the woods that runs between the school and Cliffmore Road on Tuesday, after learning of several reports of a bear that was hanging around near the Cliffmore Road end of the path during the time students were heading to school that morning. Students were not permitted to use the path to go home on Tuesday afternoon, and it was closed on Wednesday as well, with police providing extra patrols in the area.

On Thursday afternoon, two cones and caution tape cordoned off the entrance to the path from the Bugbee parking lot, but there was no signage on the Cliffmore Road end.

The Bugbee administration refused to comment Thursday afternoon on the status of the path or what families were being told to do. A notice posted on the school’s website dated Sept. 13 read: “We have been advised by the police that bears have been sighted in the area south of the Bugbee path. As a percaution, [sic] we ask that you choose an alternate route home over the next few days. At dismissal today, students will not be allowed to use the path. The police will be in the area providing assistance. Thank you for your attention to this request.  For additional information, please refer to the Bear Managment Info Sheet.”

“We always want students to be safe walking near or through any wooded area,” Assistant Superintendent for Administration Andy Morrow said Thursday. Although the bear was not actually seen on the school property, he said, “It was in the vicinity and we want to act with a prevalence of caution.”

Morrow said the administration is waiting for guidance from West Hartford Police and DEEP regarding the status of the path.

Laura Punt lives on Fulton Place and said she usually walks her daughter to school through the wooded path and has never felt unsafe. On Wednesday she followed the school’s recommended detour and took the “long way around” up North Main Street and down Asylum Avenue. She drove her daughter to school on Thursday on the way to work.

“I didn’t see it, but my neighbors did,” Punt said. Several neighbors took photos of the bear near the stop sign at the intersection of Cliffmore and Brookside Drive, right near the southern end of the path, Punt said.

Rocheleau said two more bear sightings had been reported on Thursday, but he did not have details about the locations. He anticipated the Bugbee path would remain closed at least for Friday morning.

Schain said that the bear reportedly seen around Bugbee does not appear to have either ear tags or a radio collar, and he therefore does not believe it has been previously trapped and relocated, or examined by DEEP wildlife biologists while hibernating.

Schain said that the DEEP encourages people to keep their distance from the bear. “Observe it from afar and to remove all good sources from their yards. The bear will be more likely to seek out and return to your yard if your garbage cans are outside instead in the garage, if you have s bird feeder, or if the area where you barbecue offers food scraps,” he said.

DEEP bear specialist Jason Hawley said in May 2016 that the state’s bear range has fully expanded into West Hartford, and that bears are here to stay. According to the DEEP’s website, for the past year ending Sept. 14, 2016, there had been 248 bear sightings reported in West Hartford. That number is more than twice the number of bears as have been reported in the past several years.

Hawley said that all bear sightings should be reported to the DEEP through an online form. The DEEP has also produced a fact sheet about black bears.

In certain situations, the DEEP dispatch line (860-424-3333) should be called immediately. Hawley said to call DEEP if:

• You have had significant property damage caused by a bear– more than just getting into garbage cans or bird feeders.
• A bear seems to be showing signs of aggression or bluff charging. Bears don’t suddenly become dangerous, Hawley said.
• A bear has been injured.
• A bear has caused injury to other animals. Chickens left out at night are vulnerable, he said.

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