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Black Bear Visiting Homes, Touching Residents In Westport

One pesky black bear seems to have made himself at home in one Fairfield County town, even walking up to people and sitting in their sunrooms.

The Westport black bear visiting homes.

The Westport black bear visiting homes.

Photo Credit: Westport Police Department

Police in Westport, said they began receiving calls on Wednesday, June 23, of multiple sightings of the bear in the northern part of town, said Westport PD Lt. David Wolf.

Westport Police officers as well as the animal control officer responded to a home on Highland Road around 2:30 p.m., on a report of a bear in the yard.

After it departed that location, it went to a second home on the same road and reportedly put his paw on an individual who was outside gardening, Wolf said.

"However, the bear did not act aggressively towards this person nor was the man injured," Wolf said.

The animal finally ended up on Warnock Drive where it entered an unoccupied sun porch. 

By the time the animal control officer arrived the bear had left the sunroom and was sitting in the yard. 

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded and assisted with monitoring the bear’s activities. 

It was last seen heading west towards Weston.

Peter Reid, Westport’s Assistant Animal Control Officer, stressed that the bear was acting normally and not behaving in an aggressive manner. 

However, Reid cautioned against getting too close to the bear to photograph or record it as you would not want to make it feel cornered or trapped.

"At this time, there is no indication that the bear poses a threat to the community, but common-sense precautions should be taken," Wolf said. 

Bear sightings can be reported to Westport Animal Control at 203-341-5076 or reported to DEEP here.  

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