Questions remain about fatal shooting of bear in Newtown

NEWTOWN — The rescue of two orphaned black bear cubs has provided relief to community members, as questions remain about the events that led to the fatal shooting of their mother by an off-duty Ridgefield police officer last week.

The 4 1⁄2-month-old cubs were sent on Tuesday night to Kilham Bear Center, a licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility in Lyme, N.H. They will eventually be returned to the wild.

“Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection wildlife biologists want to let everyone know the cubs arrived safely at the rehabilitation facility and seem to be settling in,” the department said on its Facebook page on Tuesday night.

Wildlife groups and community members concerned about the cubs seemed pleased by the news.

“I think they're in the right place,” Newtown First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said. “I'm sorry that they were orphaned in the first place, but I'm glad one tragedy didn't turn into two or three more.”

The two cubs left DEEP Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area on Tuesday for the New Hampshire facility.

DEEP captured the cubs on Monday following concerns for their safety after their mother, a bear known in the area as Bobbi, was shot last Thursday on private property in Newtown.

Officials tight-lipped

Authorities have released little information about the incident, other than to say an off-duty Ridgefield officer was involved. Ridgefield police have put the officer on administrative leave. The police chief did not return requests for additional comment on Tuesday and Wednesday.

DEEP is still investigating the incident and plans to release a report once it's complete, officials have said.

Newtown Police Chief David Kullgren said he's been told DEEP is working with the Danbury State's Attorney's Office to “ensure the investigation is thorough.”

The agency will provide its findings to the Danbury state's attorney's office, which will determine

“where they go from there, whether or not it was lawful what happened or whether it was criminal — we don't know,” said Senior Assistant State's Attorney Deborah Mabbett.

Bear hunting is illegal in Connecticut, and first offenders may face a $500 fine or up to 30 days in prison.

“A property owner may take lethal means against a wild animal if they pose a safety threat or are actively killing livestock,” DEEP spokesman Will Healey said in an email. “DEEP would investigate the circumstances to determine if the killing was justified.”

Hearst Connecticut Media has filed Freedom of Information Act requests with Newtown police and DEEP for the police report, bodycamera footage, 911 tapes and any audio tapes from DEEP's emergency response line for the incident.

How are the cubs?

Connecticut has no licensed bear rehabilitation facilities, so the bears were sent to New Hampshire, Healey said.

At the Kilham Bear Center on Wednesday morning, the bears were still “sleepy” but doing well, said Ben Kilham, who has been studying bear behavior for 30 years and is one of two primary caregivers at the center.

Within about a week, the 11- and 13-pound cubs will join other cubs their size in the center's enclosures, he said. The center has 11 other cubs this year.

“They'll be put in with them, make friends, socialize, which they do pretty quickly,” he said.