Awe, damage mark trail of bear sightings

Residents contact police in 3 towns

Carla Jones missed seeing the bear, but awoke to find one of the bird feeders at her Uxbridge home smashed and a few others damaged. Like some others who live in the area, she said she wasn't fearful. "Actually, it's kind of cool," Jones said. Nevertheless, authorities warn that residents should not approach bears. (DOMINIC CHAVEZ/GLOBE STAFF)

Donna Grant was relaxing on her couch when the visitor in black came knocking. "I heard a little crash," she said. "Then I got up and heard a loud crash."

Grant walked apprehensively to the picture window facing the back porch of her Uxbridge home about 10:30 Friday night and flicked on the light switch.

"There was a bear," she said.

It was eating her bird feed. And, she later discovered, her neighbors' bird feed, too.

A wandering black bear, believed to be about 2 years old and 135 pounds, sparked a flurry of calls to police in Sutton, Northbridge, and Uxbridge over the weekend, as it lumbered through woods and housing developments, mostly gorging on bird seed.

Because residents' calls originated in Sutton on Thursday and continued along a path southward until Saturday, police said they thought the bear was probably moving toward Rhode Island, possibly along a stream or via the pathway under power lines running through the woods.

But police in North Smithfield, R.I., which borders Uxbridge, said they had no recent reports of bear sightings.

Uxbridge police Chief Scott Freitas said the bear might have come from the state forest in neighboring Douglas, where bears are known to live. Police phone lines were flooded with people asking what to do about the bear, he said. His response was that the bear was nonaggressive, but should be left alone, even though it might look cute.

"We really want people to understand how to deal with wild animals to avoid having to do extraordinary things, like putting an animal down," he said.

When Uxbridge police arrived at Grant's house Friday, the bear wasn't bothered, said Sergeant David Bergeron. "The bear just sat on the deck with the spotlight on him, eating the bird feed, then walked off as calm as can be."

Grant said in a phone interview that she was more surprised than afraid of the bear and was impressed to see a large, wild animal. "I'd be afraid if I was outside," she added.

State environmental officials said Massachusetts residents should get used to black bears, whose numbers are increasing. In 1970, the Bay State was home to about 100 bears, whereas 3,000 are thought to live in the state today, according to the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. In Western Massachusetts, bear encounters with humans are common.

Yesterday, a woman in Lee surprised a bear in her driveway as she picked up discarded items the beast had purloined from her garbage cans. The bear ran off, said Lisa Capone, a spokeswoman for the state agency also known as MassWildlife.

Closer to Boston, development is encroaching on bear territories.

"It's not particularly surprising at all," said MassWildlife biologist Jim Cardoza, a bear specialist, discussing the Uxbridge incident. "There's plenty of bears in that part of the state."

During spring, interaction is more common because mothers have weaned their young in preparation to reproduce again, Cardoza said. While weaned females tend to stay put, males often roam as far as 60 miles from their birthplace.

It wasn't known whether the recently sighted bear was a young male, but Cardoza said the behavior Grant and others described was in line with just such an animal. "They've never been away from their mama before, and they get attracted to food," he said.

Carla Jones of Uxbridge didn't see a bear in action, but awoke on Saturday to find one of her bird feeders smashed and several others damaged. Like Grant, she wasn't fearful.

"Actually, it's kind of cool," she said. "We have coyotes here, too."

Cardoza said the best way to keep bears away is to not leave pets or pet food outside. Bears are like people, he said: They can't refrain from eating tasty, fatty food when it is in front of them. Once they find a source for a meal, they will come back, often rudely.

"It starts with the bird feeder, like this one," he said. "Then it goes to the pet food on the porch, and then in the summer when you keep your screen door open, the bear goes right through the screen door to the food on your table."