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Bear Sightings In Fairfield County

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. --  A total of 34 bear sightings were reported in The Daily Voice's Fairfield County readership area in 2012, according to a statewide survey released last week by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Bears are becoming a more common sight in Fairfield County, including this cub that was captured in Greenwich and released in 2012.

Bears are becoming a more common sight in Fairfield County, including this cub that was captured in Greenwich and released in 2012.

 Photo Credit: Anna Helhoski, File
by Eric Gendron

Although black bear sightings in Fairfield County remain a rarity, the state's population of the animal continues to increase every year, according to DEEP. More bears, especially bear cubs, will be seen more often in residential areas.

Redding had the most black bear sightings in The Daily Voice's readership area in 2012 with seven reports. Norwalk and Westport did not have any black bear visitors last year.

By comparison, Farmington had the most bear sightings in the state in 2012 with 239. There were a total of 2,736 black bear sightings reported statewide.

DEEP gives advice on its website on how to avoid attracting bears to residential areas. Those tips include not intentionally feeding bears, removing bird feeders between March and November and not adding meet or sweets to compost piles.

Here are town-by-town bear sightings in 2012 for The Daily Voice's Fairfield County readership area:

  • Danbury: 1
  • Darien: 1
  • Easton: 4
  • Fairfield: 4
  • Greenwich: 3
  • New Canaan: 1
  • Norwalk: 0
  • Redding: 7
  • Ridgefield: 2
  • Stamford: 5
  • Weston: 2
  • Westport: 0
  • Wilton: 4

See the full report on bear sightings here.

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