DEEP catches 1 of 2 bear cubs orphaned in Newtown
NEWTOWN — Officials with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have captured one of two bear cubs left orphaned after their mother was shot and killed last week.
One of the cubs came down from a tree in Newtown and was tranquilized and “safely captured” by DEEP Wildlife Division staff, the agency said on its Facebook page Monday evening. The cub's sibling remains in the tree, and DEEP staff plan to remain onsite to capture that bear and bring them both to a rehabiltator.
At a news conference held just after 2 p.m., Jenny Dickson, the director of the DEEP Wildlife Division, said officials were monitoring the cubs who they discovered had climbed up to a tree in a wooded area in Newtown with the hope of safely tranquilizing them before transporting them to a rehabilitation center in the region.
“At this point it's going to be important for us to capture those cubs and bring them to a wildlife rehabilitator to give them the best chance of survival,” Dickson said.
“We have to assess how far up the tree they are, is it too far for us to tranquilize them? Are they going to get injured if we tranquilize them and they fall out of the tree? So, we have to look at all of those different kinds of things to assess the safety to do that and sometimes it's just better to wait for them to decide to come down, at least a little lower, or ideally come down out of the tree entirely to make it a little safer,” she added.
Ahead of the Monday news conference, DEEP Deputy Commissioner Mason Trumble said wildlife experts on scene had set a trap, deeming that as the best option to capture the animals.
“We ask that folks stay out of this area to give the cubs space in order for the trap to work,” Trumble said in a Facebook video update.
The bear cubs' mother, nicknamed “Bobbi,” was shot and killed last Thursday by an off-duty Ridgefield police officer, officials said. The bear was well-known in the area, including by her ear identification tag number, 217.
State laws in Connecticut make hunting or trapping bears illegal unless it is in an act of self-defense. Newtown and Ridgefield police did not respond to a request for comment. Authorities have not released the name of the officer. James Fowler, senior advisor on outreach and engagement at DEEP, said Monday the agency continues to investigate the shooting.
Laura Simon of the CT Wildlife Rehabilators Association said she and her colleagues located the Sunday and requested permission from DEEP to capture them.
“They wouldn't respond, they wouldn't allow it,” she said. “It was crazy because we had the bears, and they were down on the ground, and we could have gotten them but apparently they are going to capture them now, which is good, but the vital thing is they need to get to a wildlife rehabiliator with their expertise immediately,” Simon said early Monday afternoon as she traveled to the site of the attempted capture.