DEEP euthanizes two bears at Sessions Woods in Burlington
The bear that exhibited bold and aggressive behavior toward a hiker at Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area in Burlington last Friday was euthanized on Wednesday, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced.
The male bear was shot and killed on the grounds of Sessions Woods about 1:45 p.m., DEEP said in a news release.
The bear was killed in the same area where it interacted with the hiker last week.
It also again was accompanied by a second, larger bear, which is unusual, DEEP said.
A positive identification was made from the number on red ear tags — 065 — which had been placed on the bear when DEEP had previous contact with it.
The tags were visible on video footage taken by the hiker last week.
DEEP Wildlife Division staff setting traps at Sessions Woods on Wednesday afternoon were alerted to the presence of two bears nearby.
They were able to locate the bears and dispatch the one matching the description of the animal that had been encountered by the hiker, DEEP said.
The second bear remained at a distance.
This male bear had a history of aggressive behavior toward humans, DEEP said.
It was captured, tranquilized and relocated from the perimeter fence at Bradley International Airport in June.
Later that month, it attempted to follow a woman into a building in Windsor. In July, it was suspected of entering a home in Granby.
During the search for the bear involved in Friday’s incident, a second bear was euthanized at Sessions Woods shortly before 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
That took place after DEEP staff responded to reports of a bear in the area where the encounter with the hiker took place and matching its description.
This female bear also had two red ear tags and was travelling with a larger bear, DEEP said. It was about the same size as the male bear being sought and exhibited similar aggressive behavior.
The female bear charged one of the two DEEP Wildlife Division staff people who were on the scene, the agency said.
The numbers on that bear’s ear tags were 035. It had been tagged this winter in the Bristol area during DEEP research at bear dens.
Necropsies will be conducted on both bears to determine their condition and whether any abnormalities could have contributed to their unusual aggressive behavior, DEEP said.
DEEP took action to euthanize the bear involved in Friday’s incident because of the threat it presented to public safety.
Given the incident on Friday and the previous behavior of the bear, there was serious concern that it could have injured a person in any future encounter.
Due to ongoing levels of unusually high bear activity in the area, the trails at Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area will remain closed until further notice.
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