canton

Bear Breaks Into Woman's Home in Canton

A woman in Canton had quite the scare on Monday morning when a bear broke into her home.

The woman who lives in the home on East Hill Road said the 400 pound bear broke through a screen door, pushed in her front door and entered her home while she was lying in bed around 7 a.m. She said she played dead on her bed as the bear moved her dresser in her bedroom. Once the bear left her bedroom and went into her kitchen, the woman called police.

“I was awake, but I heard something, and I looked up and he was there,” said the woman on the 911 call.

When officers arrived the bear was still in the kitchen, but it left the house shortly after. Officers shot one round at the bear who kept walking away into the woods, according to police.

Police then tracked the untagged bear into the woods, but could not find it. Officials with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said they plan to set a trap near the woman's house.

This is the fourth bear to enter a home in Canton in the last week, according to police and the D.E.E.P. People in Canton are used to seeing black bears on their property, but the bears' bold behavior of breaking into homes is concerning to them.

“I’m just kind of nervous now, just knowing how close it is,” said Bog Zacharski, who lives next door to where this happened.

The D.E.E.P. has been warning homeowners and state leaders about the rising bear population and the need to control it. State biologists have recommended starting a regulated hunting season, but a bill proposing the idea failed during the last two legislative sessions.

“Our bear population is growing perhaps 10-15% a year, it’s spreading across the state. They’re becoming abundant in both rural and suburban areas and right now the only recourse to check that population, we feel, is a regulated hunting season,” said Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist for the D.E.E.P.

The woman was not injured in the incident.

If you encounter a black bear in or outside of your home, state biologists recommend you make loud noises and waive your arms to scare the bear away.

Contact Us