NEWTOWN, CT (1010 WINS) — A beloved black bear who roamed Newtown, Connecticut was shot and killed Thursday leaving two cubs without their mom, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced.
The tagged bear, named Bobbi, is being mourned by local residents and beyond on several Facebook groups with one user saying she was shot by a homeowner who claimed self-defense over a chicken coop invasion, though it has not been confirmed.
“I’m so saddened to report that Bobbi has met a fate that we all feared,” the Facebook post on the page ‘Bobbi the Bear #217’ read. “Yesterday she was shot multiple times on Scudder Road by a home owner in Newtown, leaving orphaned cubs.”
The only legal reason to kill a bear in Connecticut is in the case of self-defense. State law also protects farmers or farm workers who trap or kill a bear who damages property on land used for agriculture.
Officials are not interfering with the two cubs, instead allowing them to roam free in their home range to increase their familiarity and chances of survival while monitoring them.
“We urge people to avoid feeding bear cubs and give them space to continue learning to forage for natural food sources, free from human interference,” DEEP officials said on Facebook. “Human interaction or feeding the cubs can greatly reduce their chance of survival and will also diminish their natural fear of people, creating potential future danger for the bears and public safety.”
The town’s First Selectman, Dan Rosenthal, told the Hartford Courant he was “heartbroken over the loss of the bear and the orphaning of the cubs.” Rosenthal could not comment on the investigation but added he was lobbying DEEP to get permission for the cubs to go to a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization.
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