The state is asking residents of several southern Vermont communities to be on the lookout for a black bear frequenting local backyards.
The Fish and Wildlife Department says the young male bear has two red ear tags with the number CT 024.
It’s been seen in Brattleboro, Guilford and Dummerston, where there have been multiple daily reports by residents. The department is asking people to bear-proof or remove garbage cans, bird feeders and other food sources.
Wildlife biologist Scott Darling says this is a difficult time for bears while they wait for natural food sources, like berries, to grow and ripen.
"This bear is just looking at alternative food supplies right now, and the less that humans can do to attract it to our neighborhoods the more likely it will wander back into the woods and survive this period,” he says.
Darling says it’s unusual for the department to issue an alert about a specific animal, but this one has been sighted so frequently it’s justified in hopes that the bear won’t have to be euthanized.
“We have no reason to feel that this bear is a threat to human health or safety," Darling says. "And we’re doing what we can to keep it alive."
Darling says the bear actually migrated from Connecticut this spring, where it was tagged by Fish and Wildlife biologists after it was found denning under a porch with its mother and a sibling.
Vermont officials are asking those who see a bear with two red ear tags to file a Bear Incident Report.
