Large nuisance bear trapped in Connoquenessing Township
A large, male black bear has been moved to an area with more elbow room after causing some excitement in Connoquenessing Township last week.
The state Game Commission trapped the bear March 9 on the property of Cody and Chelsea Riley and released it in Allegheny National Forest.
Chelsea Riley said on March 6 she found bird food from her feeder scattered around her front yard, but thought high winds were to blame for the mess.
As the week went on, evidence of a different perpetrator began appearing.
Her garbage can had been dragged into a neighbor’s yard.
“We had to clean up all the garbage. It was scattered everywhere,” Riley said.
She said she thought a raccoon was the culprit, but the neighbor told her that he saw the guilty party, and it was a bear.
Muddy paw prints she saw on her back porch confirmed the species of the hungry prowler.
“My dog wasn’t doing her job notifying us,” Riley said about the family’s 20-pound goldendoodle.
She called the Game Commission, which sent game wardens who set up a trap baited with doughnuts on March 8. The next day, a large bear was caught in the trap.
The commission examined the bear before releasing it in Allegheny National Forest. The commission also sent the Rileys some of the information they gleaned from the examination and a video of its release.
She said the commission determined the bear was male about 5 years old and it weighed 350 pounds — exceptionally large for bear that probably had just emerged from winter hibernation.
The Rileys home is in area that is mostly residential, but the rear of their property borders open fields and a farm, she said.
Riley said she approached the trapped bear and took some photos. She said the bear growled and lunged in her direction. Initially, she was surprised by how aggressive it seemed, but she now suspects being in the trap probably had the animal on edge.
“It's loud, and it's huge,” she said.
She said she is relieved the bear was removed because she was worried about the safety of her three young sons who are all under 5 years old and like to play outside and the dog.
Riley said she is also glad the animals she intended to feed felt safe enough to returned to her yard.
“The bird are back,” she said.
Riley said her family moved to the county in October from New York where Cody served in the military.
