New Milford pigs defend their pen against young bear
When a bear climbed over the fence of a New Milford woman’s pig pen, she was worried her swine would be hurt.
Turns out, it was the pigs the bear had to worry about.
On Thursday evening, Rebecca Shaw heard a commotion on her property in Gaylordsville Thursday evening. Her son was shooing a bear away. This was a bit after Shaw fed her pigs dinner, prompting her to look at her security camera footage.
The footage showed what Shaw described as an “overgrown baby” bear bumbling around her yard, knocking over pitchforks and shovels. She thought it was cute until the bear climbed over a fence and was face to face with her two pigs.
“I freaked out,” Shaw said. The video first shows Mary, a large, white pig, headbutting the bear into the fence. Hamlet, a smaller, black pig, then runs out of his shelter, charging at the bear. After a brief stare down, the bear climbs back over the fence and retreats.
Shaw said she was blown away by her pigs’ bravery, especially Hamlet, who she affectionately refers to as Hammy.
“Hammy’s afraid of his own shadow,” she said. “He’s a petrified little piggy ... He’s afraid of the world.”
Shaw said she knew Hamlet was inside the enclosure — probably whimpering and crying. “To see him run out and protect Mary and chase that bear away, it tears me up because I know how afraid he was when he did that.”
She thought her pigs could be hurt but after a thorough examination, she found them unharmed. “Not even a scratch,” Shaw said. “I’m still blown away.”
This isn’t Shaw’s first run-in with bears on her property. They frequent her yard in the warmer months. However, they’ve never attempted to get in the pig pen.
Now, Shaw secures her pigs in their shelter when she can’t keep an eye on them. She’s also trying to get some electric fencing to keep bears from the pen so she’ll be able to let the pigs use the entire enclosure.
Though she’s proud of her pigs, she said she’s also anxious about what could have happened if an adult bear got in the enclosure. An adult would have done some damage, she said.
Mary and Hamlet are “spoiled rotten” she said. They’re the only livestock at her home, and Shaw takes them down a path so they can graze a field.
Since the incident, Shaw has been feeding Mary and Hamlet extra watermelon and Pop-Tarts — their favorite treats.