Crime & Safety

Black Bear Strolls Into Downtown Danbury

A bear climbed into a tree behind St. Peter's Tuesday, and hundreds of people gathered to see it before DEEP and city police pulled them back and caught the bear.

"Everybody wants to see the bear," said Rich Antous of the UNIT. "They tranquilized it with a shot and it slowly slid out of the tree."

People reported seeing a bear the same size as this one on West Wooster Street and Jefferson Avenue within the last few days.

The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, which tracks bear sightings, said two black bears have been reported in Danbury this year.

Jeff Preston, who answers the city's 311 information line, said he has never received a bear call.

The bear was tranquilized and put in a pick-up truck. People saw it before it left town, and people who walked by for a glimpse couldn't help but touch the bear.

"It was right downtown. It had to walk on roads and sidewalks to get here. It walked through backyards and it must have gotten into garbage cans and bird feeders."


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