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Several reports of broken or knocked over bird feeders arose the Sharon Police Department's suspicions that a bear was in the area of Furnace Street and Gavins Pond Road, behind Shaw's Plaza, the police department said on Facebook.
These suspicions were confirmed when a resident on Furnace Street sent police a video of a curious black bear near their home, which Sharon police shared on Facebook on Sunday, May 8.
A Facebook group called "Tyngsboro Bear Sightings" has reported multiple sightings of black bears in back yards and residential areas in Tyngsboro.
"[A bear] got the suet out of the bird feeder last night, looking for more tonight apparently," one post in the group said.
Removing bird feed is one of several tips offered by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to prevent conflict with bears.
Bears have been seen in central and western Massachusetts as well in recent weeks, according to MassBears, a digital bear sighting map created by MassWildlife, the Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Amherst College, and University of Massachusetts Amherst.
A week prior to the Sharon sighting, a bear was found in downtown Northampton, as reported by Daily Voice.
Massachusetts Environmental Police used a tranquilizer dart to get the bear out of the tree, and relocated the creature to an undisclosed location.
The black bear population in Massachusetts have skyrocketed in recent decades, from under 100 individual bears in the mid-1970s to over 4,500 estimated bears in 2022.
Click here to read more information and recommendations about bears from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
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