Animal 411

Police: Black Bear Breaks into Chicken Coop on Lantern Ridge Road

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A black bear broke into a chicken coop in northeastern New Canaan some time during the night Sunday and killed chickens inside it, officials said. The chicken coop on Lantern Ridge Road had been “well-fortified” but the bear got in anyway, according to a New Canaan Police Department report cited by Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm. Officers found bear scat at the scene and determined no other species of animal could have broken into the coop, Halm said. A second chicken coop on the same road showed evidence of damage to it that appeared also to be a bear attempting to get in at the birds, she said. The reports come about one month after a resident of Father Peters Lane, also located in the northeast part of town, photographed a mother bear and two young cubs on their property. 

Halm has said New Canaan is seeing an increasing number of black bears appear each spring.

Animal 411

New Canaan Animal Control Officer Receives Bear Spray Training, Certification

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Saying the town has seen a rise in the number of black bear sightings in recent years, New Canaan’s Animal Control officer has been trained and certified to carry bear spray this spring, officials say. The New Canaan Police Department receives reports of “a number of bear sightings” each year, Chief Leon Krolikowski said. “Most often, New Canaan bears avoid interacting with our residents,” he told NewCanaanite.com. “However, given that [Animal Control] Officer [Allyson] Halm is often called to handle a variety of wild and domestic animals, some who are quite unhappy, we issued her bear spray, provided training and certified her. This spray is not just for bears as it can be used to harmlessly re-direct a variety of animals.

Animal 411

‘We Could Have Two Bears’: Black Bear Sightings Tuesday on Eastern, Western Sides of New Canaan

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Police say black bear sightings reported on opposite sides of New Canaan Tuesday could represent two different bears—the most recent sign that the species increasingly is making its home here and in surrounding towns. The first report came in before 8 a.m. from a woman who heard a bear growling in the woods off of Rosebrook Road on the east side of town, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control section. A few hours later, sightings were reported on the west side of town, on Sherwood Lane and Wellesley Drive, Halm said. “We could have two bears,” she said. “There were no reports of a bear crossing 123 or 124, and the first bear was reported as being huge” while the second one wasn’t.