Middleton backyard was bear's buffet

By Stacie N. Galang
Staff Writer

April 22, 2009 09:43 am

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MIDDLETON — A black bear with a sweet tooth went on a snacking binge, crashing over beehives and taking down an 8-foot bird feeder in a heavily wooded neighborhood.

Linda Wilkins, who lives on Mill Street, said her husband, Alan, discovered several of his backyard beehives toppled over and damaged April 11 and called police. The couple initially thought vandals were responsible, but when police arrived, they discovered a clue: a paw print.

"We actually have the bear print on the honey frame," Linda Wilkins said. "We have proof."

She said her husband put everything back together as best he could, only to have the bear plunder the hives this weekend.

"He likes his entertainment on the weekend, a Friday-night special," she said. "I'd like him to find a new location."

Neighbors Dennis and Patricia Rozumek heard a commotion outdoors late one night but didn't think much of it. The next morning, they found their bird feeder pulled down and saw tracks on their deck railing near a piece of suet.

"I kind of heard him," Dennis Rozumek said. "We have a lot of animals, a lot of deer. I just thought it was a raccoon."

The bird feeder was up on an 8-foot "rugged" PVC pole.

"He took that thing right out of the ground," Dennis Rozumek said. "The feeder is made out of aluminum, and he pretty much destroyed it."

Even though bears are rare in Essex County, they do appear periodically, said Marion Larson, a MassWildlife biologist. A bear was spotted in Lynnfield in the fall, she said.

Although no one had seen the Middleton animal, she believed it was indeed a bear.

"It sounds like the evidence is pretty convincing," she said. "Nothing breaks up a beehive like a bear."

While Winnie the Pooh loves honey, real bears like the larva of bees and other insects, Larson said.

"That is the big attraction," she said. "It's a pretty easy meal."

Her agency is unaware of bears breeding and raising their young in Essex County, but she suspects this bear is a young male. As their mothers breed again, the males are "kicked out of the house," she said.

"Male bears are going off 50 to 100 miles to find where their place in the world is going to be," she said.

Don't feed the animals

The Mill Street neighbors said they had never had an experience with bears, despite three decades in the neighborhood.

"We have a ton of deer, but I have never seen a bear before," Dennis Rozumek said.

For at least 25 years, Alan Wilkins has kept the hives as a hobby on his 2-acre property without incident.

"We've never seen a bear here, ever," said Linda Wilkins, who's lived in the house for 30 years.

The Wilkinses have since called a local beekeeping association to collect all their hives.

"We don't want to entice this critter to stay here," she said.

Linda said she's been on edge since the bear's visits.

"It's a big residential area," she said. "I won't even go out at night now."

The Rozumeks removed their feeders.

"I feel bad," Patricia Rozumek said. "We have hundreds of birds."

They also have a koi fish pond and worry about the bear having a fish supper on them.

"It's a good size," Dennis Rozumek said. "It will make a good meal, but there's nothing we can do."

Bear growth

The bear population has grown from 100 in the early 1970s to about 3,000 in 2005, the latest estimate, Larson said.

"We know that their population is growing 8 percent a year," she said.

The biologist urged residents to bring in bird feeders and pet food. Put out garbage only on the morning of trash pickup; otherwise, it's an "all-you-can-eat" buffet for any animal, Larson said.

People, regardless of size and age, are not viewed as food, she said.

"Bears are wary of people, and we want them to have a negative experience. So don't feed them," she said.

Larson said the presence of bears is not considered a public safety issue in most cases.

"Bears, when seen, go off into the woods by themselves," she said.

Her agency, in conjunction with the state's Environmental Police, tranquilizes and relocates the animals only as "a last resort" because of the difficulty and hazard in doing so.

"It's not as easy as it looks on TV," she said.

Bear Necessities

If a bear stops to feed on trash, bird seed, or other human-generated foods, remove those foods after the bear has left and advise neighbors to do the same.

Due to their fear of people, bears tend to leave a yard when people step outside and make noise.

Keep garbage in airtight containers, securely stored in a cellar, garage or shed.

Put trash at roadside the day of trash pickup.

Do not feed pets outdoors.

Do not deposit sweet or meaty items in compost piles, as bears may find them.

In residential areas where bears are known to be present, the entire neighborhood must take recommended actions or bears will move from yard to yard seeking food.

Source: Mass Wildlife

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