It’s springtime, which means rainy weather, never wearing the right jacket and lots and lots of bears.
So far this year, more than 1,200 bear sightings have been reported across the state as bears wake up from winter hibernation.
In an effort to stop the bears from getting too close to humans - and too familiar with them - state officials are asking residents to secure trash cans and take down bird feeders.
“There's a lot of calories in a bird feeder and they're a significant attractant for bears to come close to our homes,” said Katie Dykes, commissioner of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in Burlington on Monday.
Connecticut’s bear population has been growing since the 1980s and with it, more human-bear interactions.
“Years ago, we didn't need to worry about securing our trash or bringing in our bird feeders, but now that's clearly something that we have to do,” Dykes said.
Most human-bear conflicts involve bird feeders and trash cans
Thousands of human-bear conflicts are reported across Connecticut every year. More than 19,000 conflicts were reported from 2020 to 2025, according to the latest State of the Bears report.
That includes bears entering homes, attacking livestock and beehives, damaging farmland and vehicles, and physical altercations with pets and humans.
But the vast majority of conflicts between bears and humans come from bears getting into trash cans and eating from bird feeders. It’s a habit that young bears are picking up on, which makes human-bear conflicts more likely to happen, according to Robert LaFrance, Connecticut Policy Director for the Audubon Society.
“If a mother bear sees a bird feeder and eats it, the cub sees that,” LaFrance said. “These are very intelligent animals. They learn from their parents that they can get food [by] being around human beings.”
Taking down bird feeders also helps birds transition away from relying on feeders to finding insects.
“It’s not that we're doing this to hurt the birds,” LaFrance said. “By taking away the bird feeders, we're actually encouraging them to eat the food that they would otherwise naturally have.”
Experts and state officials also suggest storing bird seed away from garages and sheds that bears can access, looking into bear-proof trash cans and installing electric fences to protect chicks and other animals.
“We're really fortunate in this state to have a thriving bear population,” Dykes said. “It just happens to be adjacent to where a lot of humans live.”
Áine Pennello is a Report for America corps member, covering the environment and climate change for Connecticut Public
