Bear Sighted in Rockville, Vernon Police Scare It Into the Woods

The Vernon Police Department responded to a bear sighting in downtown Rockville on Friday evening.  

Police said they received a few calls about people sighting a black bear traveling through Rockville.

Officers eventually spotted the bear near Snipsic Lake and used the sirens on police cruisers to scare the animal into the woods. 

Police said the bear traveled from Cedar Street to East Street and was scared into the woods on Tolland Avenue.

Here are a few recommendations from the state Department of Environmental Protection for keeping bears away from a home.

• Remove bird feeders from late March through November. If a bear visits a bird feeder in winter, remove the feeder.

• Wait until the morning of collection before bringing out trash. Add a few capfuls of ammonia to trash bags and garbage cans to mask food odors. Keep trash bags in a container with a tight lid and store in a garage or shed.
 
• Do not leave pet food outside overnight. Store livestock food in airtight containers.

• Do not put meats or sweet-smelling fruit rinds in compost piles. Lime can be sprinkled on the compost pile to reduce the smell and discourage bears.
 
• Thoroughly clean grills after use or store in a garage or shed.
 
• Never intentionally feed bears. Bears that associate food with people may become aggressive and dangerous. This may lead to personal injury, property damage, and the need to destroy problem animals.

• Encourage neighbors to take similar precautions.

The DEP says those seeing a bear on their property you can either leave the bear alone and wait for it to leave or make loud noises from a safe distance to attempt to scare the bear away. After the bear leaves the property, remove anything that may have attracted it to the area.

The DEP responded to the Vernon sightings but the bear was not spotted again after running into the woods, police said.