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Aggressive Black Bear in Granby Euthanized by DEEP Officials

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Creative Commons
A yearling black bear, like the one in this file photo, was euthanized Tuesday morning after chasing two runners in Granby's McLean Game Refuge.
Wildlife biologists aren't sure why this particular bear chased after the runners.

A young bear that chased two runners in Granby's McLean Game Refuge on Monday has been euthanized. Officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection are hoping a necropsy will give them clues about the bears unusually aggressive behavior. One test result late Wednesday showed the bear did not have rabies.

A 911 call was obtained by The Hartford Courant from one of the two runners chased by the bear. 

A partial call transcript is below:

Dispatcher: Granby 911, where's your emergency? Runner at McLean Game Refuge: Uh...McLean Game Refuge. Dispatcher: Yes. Runner: A black bear has got me cornered here. Dispatcher: Okay, I've got an officer on the way. Runner: Okay. He's, like, right on top of me, here. Go on! Get out of here!

On Monday night, wildlife experts from DEEP trapped a bear matching the runner's description, and later euthanized the animal.

The bear was described by DEEP as a 16-to-17-month-old yearling male weighing 120 pounds. There were no tags on the bear.

According to DEEP spokesman Dennis Schain, a female bear will scare off someone if they get too close to their cubs. But in general, black bears are rarely aggressive towards humans.

Wildlife biologists aren't sure why this particular bear chased after the runners.

A map of the McLean Refuge is below:

"It's possible that it was overly aggressive in staking out and protecting what it saw as his territory," said Schain. "One thing [DEEP wildlife biologists] will look for is rabies. It's possible, but pretty rare."

The bear will undergo a necropsy at the Pathobiology Laboratory at the University of Connecticut to help determine whether the animal had rabies or some other health issue that would have prompted the pursuit of the runners. The results will be ready in a few days.

The DEEP stresses the behavior of this bear was very unusual, and asks everyone enjoying the outdoors to follow some common sense rules. People should never try and feed bears in the wild. If you encounter a bear while hiking or camping, wave your arms and make noise, but keep your distance, and back away from the bear.

More information about black bears is available at the DEEP website.

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public’s Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV’s Emmy-nominated original series Where Art Thou? Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of Morning Edition, and later of All Things Considered.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.