Another Bear Sighting

A black bear, presumed to be the same one seen rummaging through the Kensington section of town, was seen Monday night and Tuesday morning and afternoon near Worthington Ridge.

Residents on Kramer Road, Valley Road, Jeffery Lane and Tree Hill Road as well as Peter Parley Row and Sage Drive have all reported seeing the bear in the front and back yards.

"We have been getting calls since last night into today," Berlin police officer Tom Hodolitz said. "He's wandering. We sat with him for a while and watched him. He's 200 or 300 pounds, which I guess is considered small. He's sitting right now (2:30 p.m.) eating a bag of birdseed that he found.

"We called the DEP and they will decide what to do with him."

Willard and McGee Schools sent out a reverse 9-1-1 to parents letting them know of the bear sighting and telling parents that some students who usually walked home from school would be bussed.

"We just saw it and two police officers walked after it into the woods," said Dave Balfore of Sage Drive. "It wasn't a full-grown bear but it was good size. They said they were going to try to get it to a more wooded place."

One neighbor who did not want to be identified said she saw the bear pick up her garbage can and shake it to eat whatever was inside.

Another neighbor said she was unhappy that the DEP did not want to get involved.

"There will be kids getting out of school and they just told the Berlin Police Department to leave him alone," she said. "How are they going to get it to a wooded area without a tranquilizer and moving it across the turnpike? Our police, fire and animal control officer are not equipped to deal with a bear, no matter how small."

By 4 p.m. television news crews had descended upon the neighborhood but the bear, still being monitored by two Berlin Police Officers was nowhere to be found.