Young Black Bear Pays Connecticut Firefighters A Visit & Refuses To Get Out Of Tree

A young black bear recently decided to visit a fire station in Danbury, Connecticut. The firefighters spotted the animal in a tree and came to its rescue on Monday, April 20. They later took to social media on Tuesday and shared photos and video footage of the stranded bear, later named “Dan Berry” by their local mayor.

The Danbury Fire Department started their week with the exciting, albeit odd find while doing their routine “morning station cleaning and equipment check” rounds. One of the local firemen spied the bear in the lot directly behind the New Street firehouse, per News-Times. Far from being relieved that he was being rescued, the bear wanted to stay put in the tree.

The firefighters reported that they had to call in the help of the Connecticut State Environmental Conservation Police because they needed to relocate the bear safely. After getting him down, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) estimated that the black bear was about 15 months old, weighed approximately 135 pounds, and seemed to be in good health.

“While they had him sedated, they tagged and chipped him as well as recorded his measurements. He was relocated to another location in the state and safely released back into the wild by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.”

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The Danbury Professional Fire Fighters Facebook page shows a video clip that they made of the bear. They added music to the footage of the bear who refused to get out of the tree. Just after the two-minute mark, the video shows how they inject the animal with a sedation dart to facilitate the process of hauling him out of the tree. At approximately 2:26 minutes into the clip, the bear seems to be at ease with the rescue squad once they helped him down from his perch.

According to DEEP, bear sightings are common this time of the year. As the animals come out of hibernation in spring, they will start foraging for food. DEEP issued a statement to the public about the increase in bear sightings.

“While bears await the growth of fresh spring vegetation, they continue to rely on acorns and the remaining hard mast left over from fall. In addition to these natural foods, bird seed, human food waste, and pet food, as well as unprotected livestock and beehives, are also consumed by bears, especially near the areas where food rewards have been found in the past.”

In the last year, there have been 29 bear sightings in Danbury alone. And if you thought that firefighters only rescued kittens from trees, it’s time to change your perception of our brave heroes.

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