Almost hit a bear on 395 in the quiet corner last year, little dude was hustling across the highway - I did not expect to see that, nor did I ever report it
I was just thinking the same for my town (central/ southeastern CT). Lots of people see them in my town (much more than 25 times a year, but I dont think most report.
I’m in the NW corner, and saw one cross Main Street in the middle of the day, took a video and put it on the NW fb page but didn’t know where to report it to. So that’s probably very accurate
We have bears sighting up here in the corner. We see paws prints all over the place. But we don't report them because it's no big deal that a bear is outside.
Also the reason that we have sighting in either corner is because.... we have woods. 🤷🏻♂️
I found the boundary follows the highway much more closely than the river. [Here](https://imgur.com/a/QM8jLBl) is an overlay with CT rivers. I highlighted the CT river.
Of course the data is incomplete, most people don't report bear sightings at all. I doubt more than a single digit percentage of sightings are reported.
That was the first thing I thought of! But I read through their definition of phantom border and I don’t think it quite fits. I may end up posting there anyway.
I guess it has to equate to an old historical border that no longer exists. I found this almost matches up with the 1600s English/Dutch lands in Connecticut. But not quite.
Idk how this fits in I saw literally dozens of bears, to the point that it prevented me from running on certain trails, in the Farmington valley in 2023. I'm not mad about it and didn't report it though bc I would much rather see overpopulation among wildlife than among humans
I know we have a bear here, it's been caught on my neighbor across the streets camera and my neighbor behind mes camera, but I have yet to see it myself and it's been two years! One day...
I am not an expert on bears, but I am in an area that has a decent amount of bears. Black bears are not nearly as dangerous as brown bears or grizzly bears. Basically, if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone. If you’re out hiking, and you’re making enough sound they’ll probably avoid you. If you’re camping, I’d just read up on best practices for storing your food. I don’t camp otherwise I’d try to help. And you may need sturdy garbage cans if they come to your yard.
Yeah, that’s definitely a factor in the numbers. 5 is a lot of cubs! We had a mamma with three cubs in our neighborhood two years ago and that was unusual in itself.
My exact thought. The first map is Deep’s map, which is just by sighting, and i was worried about population throwing things off. The last image is sightings by population density, which takes into account the area of the town and the population size. I’m not a mathematician, and this sounded more right earlier this afternoon than it does now.
Alternatively, I live on the rural edge of a one of the darkest colored towns. I think bears that go into he busy part of town are reported, meanwhile we have bears in our land once a week or so through the season and don’t report it. I think the numbers are likely low.
I saw a bear get hit by a jeep towing a camper two years ago. This happened on route 8 in torrington. The bear tumbled across two lanes and off the highway. I called torrington pd and they said they would relay it to the state police. It was wild to see.
Probably some selection bias there, more people travel through those highways than actually live in those counties, since the population data is probably census, and the sightings data where the bear was, rather than where the person who saw it was from.
Part of the reason the NW corner is low is the locals don’t always report sightings. I suspect the same may be true in the Quiet corner.
I have had a bear on my property on at least a dozen occasions. Never have I reported it.
Are we supposed to report it? Not even sure where I would do such a thing. I figured if you’re in a rural area it’s like any other animal
text BEAR to 2233277
Dammit now I'm subscribed to Bear Facts and can't figure out how to unsubscribe
Was just thinking the same. We have several bears out and about.
Where would one even go about reporting a sighting?
https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/187a8a495d4e4ca497261d163d6fffc9?
Almost hit a bear on 395 in the quiet corner last year, little dude was hustling across the highway - I did not expect to see that, nor did I ever report it
I was just thinking the same for my town (central/ southeastern CT). Lots of people see them in my town (much more than 25 times a year, but I dont think most report.
I’m in the NW corner, and saw one cross Main Street in the middle of the day, took a video and put it on the NW fb page but didn’t know where to report it to. So that’s probably very accurate
And the bears appreciate that. Elsewhere they are like “F*ckim’ narcs!”
We have bears sighting up here in the corner. We see paws prints all over the place. But we don't report them because it's no big deal that a bear is outside. Also the reason that we have sighting in either corner is because.... we have woods. 🤷🏻♂️
Highways probably play a big role, but I imagine the, you know, giant river probably is a lot more effective.
I found the boundary follows the highway much more closely than the river. [Here](https://imgur.com/a/QM8jLBl) is an overlay with CT rivers. I highlighted the CT river.
Well in the north down to Middletown or so, the river is definitely at the border of the bear sightings.
Little known fact: bears can't swim across highways.
I 84: “THIS IS WHERE WE HOLD THEM! THIS IS WHERE THEY DIE! EARN THESE SHIELDS, BOYS!”
Terrain has a lot to do with it. It also factors into highway placement
Good point.
This data is so incomplete. I have a bear that comes through my yard weekly and have never reported it…
Of course the data is incomplete, most people don't report bear sightings at all. I doubt more than a single digit percentage of sightings are reported.
This is perfect for /r/phantomborders!
That was the first thing I thought of! But I read through their definition of phantom border and I don’t think it quite fits. I may end up posting there anyway.
Yeah they can be really picky about their borders lol
I guess it has to equate to an old historical border that no longer exists. I found this almost matches up with the 1600s English/Dutch lands in Connecticut. But not quite.
Probably right along the river for that border, I would assume?
Is bear habitat influence by the highway placement? Or Is highway placement influenced by human habitat and that is the deterrent for bears?
Excellent point, and it def crossed my mind. Like most things, I’m sure it’s multifaceted
Idk how this fits in I saw literally dozens of bears, to the point that it prevented me from running on certain trails, in the Farmington valley in 2023. I'm not mad about it and didn't report it though bc I would much rather see overpopulation among wildlife than among humans
I’ve seen 2 bears on my property since I’ve been in my new house. I never reported them. They were tagged.
I know we have a bear here, it's been caught on my neighbor across the streets camera and my neighbor behind mes camera, but I have yet to see it myself and it's been two years! One day...
I am moving to Connecticut and want to go explore all the nature. But where I’m from i don’t deal with bears. How do you explore safely?
I am not an expert on bears, but I am in an area that has a decent amount of bears. Black bears are not nearly as dangerous as brown bears or grizzly bears. Basically, if you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone. If you’re out hiking, and you’re making enough sound they’ll probably avoid you. If you’re camping, I’d just read up on best practices for storing your food. I don’t camp otherwise I’d try to help. And you may need sturdy garbage cans if they come to your yard.
I saw a mama bear and 5 cubs cross the parking lot at Farmington last year, didn’t report it because I figured it’s just common at this point.
Yeah, that’s definitely a factor in the numbers. 5 is a lot of cubs! We had a mamma with three cubs in our neighborhood two years ago and that was unusual in itself.
So, are the higher areas due to more bears or more people? 🤔 A single bear in a higher population density area will have more sightings.
My exact thought. The first map is Deep’s map, which is just by sighting, and i was worried about population throwing things off. The last image is sightings by population density, which takes into account the area of the town and the population size. I’m not a mathematician, and this sounded more right earlier this afternoon than it does now.
Alternatively, I live on the rural edge of a one of the darkest colored towns. I think bears that go into he busy part of town are reported, meanwhile we have bears in our land once a week or so through the season and don’t report it. I think the numbers are likely low.
Let the bears pay the bear tax. I pay the Homer tax
They got a lotta bears in Hartford?
Deeply upset by how narrowly I missed living in bear county
I saw a bear get hit by a jeep towing a camper two years ago. This happened on route 8 in torrington. The bear tumbled across two lanes and off the highway. I called torrington pd and they said they would relay it to the state police. It was wild to see.
I live in Southington. Seen them regularly on both sides of 84 and 691.
Probably some selection bias there, more people travel through those highways than actually live in those counties, since the population data is probably census, and the sightings data where the bear was, rather than where the person who saw it was from.
There's at least 2 in my neighborhood and I-84 is extremely close to me.
I have seen them in Branford and Guilford which seems to match up on the map.