We’re learning more about a bear break-in in Canton. Police released the 911 call as a parent tried to help his son who was home alone.
“My son just called me. He’s home alone and says there’s a bear inside the house.”
A Canton homeowner called 911 after a bear and a cub entered his home on Hanson Road Tuesday afternoon.
“He just called me. He’s frantic. He says there’s a bear inside the house,” he told the dispatcher.
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The homeowner, who did not want to be on camera, says the bears entered through a side window and ate all the dog food before being led outside.
Canton police officers say the mother bear was tranquilized. Then, she and her cubs were relocated. No one was hurt, which brought relief to neighbors.
“God bless him. He’s OK. I heard it’s not easy to get them out of your house once they’re in,” Robin Bahre, who lives nearby, said.
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Bahre has lived in Canton her whole life and says a bear with her three cubs came to her home last week, breaking into a garage freezer and stealing a Carvel cake.
“I saw her walking out that way with the box in her mouth and two of the cubs behind her and one of the other cubs climbed out the tree,” she said.
Despite her namesake, Bahre says these bears weren’t invited, but she’s seen them frequently.
“We probably see them four out of seven days a week,” she said.
DEEP says so far this year, home entries by bears across Connecticut have nearly doubled compared to the same time frame last year. The agency says homeowners should take steps to remove trash cans and bird feeders outside which can attract bears looking for food.
“The more we can think in doing our part to try and prevent them from learning bad behaviors in the first place, the more likely we can keep the bears safe and ourselves safe,” DEEP Biologist Jenny Dickson said.
Bahre says she’s taking that advice to heart.
“I will be closing my garage door whenever I’m home rather than … I’ve always left it open, but I’m not going to leave it open anymore,” she said.
Anyone who sees a bear in their area or on their property can make a report to DEEP by clicking here.
