Black Bear Traveled 93 Miles to Get to Greenwich

The tag and tattoo found on the female black bear captured in Greenwich this week traveled more than 90 miles from New Jersey, officials say.

, was between 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 years old, was captured on Oct. 8, 2011 in Sandyston Township in Sussex County, NJ, about 93 miles from Greenwich, according to Greenwich Conservation Director Denise Savageau. The wandering bear apparently found a good food supply in its travels as it weighed 127 pounds when captured last October.

In order to travel Greenwich, the bear had to tread water along the water. Savageau said that bears are good swimmers. However, it is unusual for females to travel that distance. Typically, they may travel several miles from their birthplace, not nearly 100, officials have said.

after it was corralled and tranquilized in the backyard of a home at 151 Hamilton Ave., in the Chickahominy section of Greenwich, the bear was released in an undisclosed state forest in upstate Connecticut.

Since the two reports Greenwich Police received about the bear in Chickahominy on June 6, there haven't been any other reported bear sightings, Savageau said. It was unclear whether Connecticut environmental officials retagged the bear or left the original tag intact to be able to continue tracking its movements, Savageau said. Bears are often tattooed on the head after capture as a secondary means of tracking, according to Savageau.

Savageau said if residents see wildlife such as coyotes or bears on their property, they should contact the conservation commission. "We've got wildlife that we see in Greenwich everyday and that doesn't make it a police matter," Savageau said. "Seeing wildlife in your backyard or wandering in the back country, that's for the conservation commission. Seeing wildlife in a more densely populated area (such as Wednesday's incident), call the police."

The Greenwich Conservation Commission can be reached at 203-622-6461 or denise.savageau@greenwichct.org. Bear sightings also can be reported to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection at (860) 675-8130  or online at http://www.deepdata.ct.gov/wildlife/sighting/bearrpt.htm.