The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is urging residents to be safe and follow proper guidance to reduce the likelihood of conflicts with black bears this fall amid a rise in home entries the agency is calling “concerning.”
According to officials, conflicts with bears are an increasing trend in Connecticut, and bears have been observed in all of the state’s 169 cities and towns this year.
One of the leading public safety indicators of rising human-bear conflicts in Connecticut is the number of bear home entries.
So far in 2025, DEEP officials said they have documented nearly 40 bear home entries across 16 municipalities. While these numbers can vary from year to year, officials said this year’s data continues to “show a concerning long-term pattern.”
Bear home entries have risen significantly over the past six years and remain far higher than those reported in neighboring states. By comparison, data shared with DEEP by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation documented only four bear home entries in Massachusetts in 2024, despite Massachusetts having a much larger black bear population than Connecticut.
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DEEP officials said that black bears attempt to enter homes because they consume human-associated food like birdseed, trash and pet food on a regular basis.
These bears become “habituated” and “food-conditioned” and lose their fear or people. Food-conditioned and habituated bears in particular pose a risk to themselves as well as to public safety and often cause property damage to houses and cars or attack pets and livestock.
“Bears lose their natural fear of people when they eat food from trash, bird feeders, grills or other human sources, causing them to spend more time in neighborhoods and near people, creating public safety risks and increasing the possibility that the bears may be hit and killed by vehicles,” said Jenny Dickson, DEEP wildlife division director.
“Never feed bears. Don’t be the reason your family or neighbors are put in a dangerous situation. Please do your part to keep both bears and people safe.”
Bears seek out human-sourced foods because they are far more calorie-rich than natural options, Dickson said. In the fall, bears enter hyperphagia, an annual power-eating marathon when they consume up to 20,000 calories per day to prepare for winter.
While Connecticut’s landscape provides ample natural foods such as acorns and blueberries, it can take many hours of foraging to meet the daily goal. By contrast, a single bird feeder or unsecured garbage bin can provide as many calories in less than an hour as a bear would acquire foraging all day in the wild, making human-sourced foods especially tempting, the agency said.
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Officials urge residents to prevent bears from eating human or pet food as the best way to keep bears from getting habituated.
“When bears find food in our trash, bird feeders, or pet dishes, they lose their natural fear of people and end up in our backyards — putting our families and pets at risk,” said DEEP commissioner Katie Dykes.
“Every resident has a role to play in protecting our communities. Be a good neighbor — keep people safe and keep bears wild,” Dykes said.
To avoid bear conflicts, DEEP offers the following suggestions.
Never feed bears. Intentionally feeding bears is illegal in Connecticut.
Never toss leftover food outside “for the animals to clean up,” as that can be a source of food for bears.
Avoid putting out birdfeeders when bears are active, as they attract bears across all areas of Connecticut. Support birds instead by planting ecologically valuable native plants, which provide food and shelter year-round and benefit far more species than bird seed. Adding a clean source of water with a bird bath also will help birds and create enjoyable viewing opportunities.
Store garbage in secure, airtight containers inside a garage or storage area. Garbage for pickup should be put outside the morning of collection and not the night before. Periodically clean garbage cans with ammonia to reduce residual odor.
Consider investing in a bear-proof trash can. Properly designed bear-proof containers are a proven method for breaking the habituation cycle by preventing bears from easily accessing human food. Discuss options for bear-proof trash receptacles with your local trash hauler, since bear-proof trash cans can be compatible with trash collection trucks.
Do not store leftover bird seed, suet cakes or recyclables in a porch or screened sunroom as bears can smell these items and will rip screens to get at them.
Keep barbecue grills clean. Store grills inside a garage or shed and remove any fuel source before storing.
Supervise dogs at all times when outside. Keep dogs on a short leash when walking and hiking. An off-leash dog might be perceived as a threat to a bear or its cubs. Dogs are required to be on a leash when visiting state parks, state forests and wildlife management areas. Check dog and leash regulations for town properties, land trusts and other public properties before visiting those areas.
Do not leave pet food outdoors or feed pets outside.
Use electric fencing to protect beehives, agricultural crops, berry bushes, chickens and other livestock.
Avoid placing meat scraps or sweet foods, such as fruit and fruit peels, in compost piles.
Anyone who observes a black bear in Connecticut is encouraged to report their sightings online or send an email to DEEP’s wildlife division at deep.wildlife@ct.gov.
Recommends for reducing the likelihood of an encounter with a bear can be found online on DEEP’s Living with Black Bears section at portal.ct.gov.
For more information on black bears in Connecticut, DEEP has published its 2025 State of the Bears report.
Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com.
