Hartford

Bear Gets Stuck in Tree for Hours in Hartford

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Neighbors in Hartford were surprised to see a young bear stuck in a tree for hours Friday. That bear eventually got down after being tranquilized by wildlife officials.

Neighbors in Hartford were surprised to see a young bear stuck in a tree for hours Friday. That bear eventually got down after being tranquilized by wildlife officials.

“I just can’t believe it," said Donna Campbell.

There’s disbelief in the eyes of neighbors like Campbell, seeing this young black bear up in a tree in her Hartford neighborhood near Albany Avenue and Chestnut Street.

“All of a sudden, I heard the street’s blocked off. There’s a bear and I’m like ‘What? In this neighborhood?’ I can’t believe it,” she said.

Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials say the bear is likely a year and a half old and was kicked out by his mother to fend for himself. They say the bear likely took a wrong turn, finding himself in downtown Hartford.

“We’ve had reports of him over the last couple of days and when they get scared, they tend to climb trees, especially the younger ones,” Jason Hawley, a DEEP wildlife biologist, said.

Hawley says the bear was reported in the tree in the early afternoon. Getting the bear down was a challenge, with Hawley saying the bear climbed too high to shoot with a tranquilizer.

Efforts were made to coax the bear to come down lower by hitting the trunk with sticks.

“We were trying everything we could to him to come down lower,” he said.

The bear was hit with a dart and went up the tree before eventually coming down. The bear then climbed another tree where more tranquilizer was given. Before long, the bear was down and sedated, giving neighbors a full view of the bear they otherwise almost never get.

“I think that bear took an Uber. That’s how the bear got here, so we’re going to check and see,” Campbell said.

The young bear was tranquilized and is being relocated to a more suitable habitat by DEEP officials.

The bear will get a ride to a more suitable habitat from DEEP. Hawley sees this as an educational opportunity.

“We take this opportunity to educate the kids. I always take the time to let the kids come over and see the bear and try and educate them a little bit and the kids love it,” he said.

DEEP officials say they have to capture a bear within Hartford city limits at least once a year, but they do say that area where this bear was found is not a suitable habitat.

Environmental officials said the bear has since woken up and has been released into a native habitat outside of the city.

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