We saw the bear on Brookview Dr. last night around 8pm.

Thanks! Updating now. Please add all further update here. You can see the map at any time at http://westford.patch.com/topics/bears-in-westford or by going to "News" and then "Bears in Westford" on the home page menu bar.

I will try update at least each Friday until they hibernate again.

I wish there were a way to feed the birds without attracting the bears. I lost two feeders last summer and don't want to put them up again.

Put a feeder in the middle of a bear trap? Just kidding, obviously. Maybe suspend a feeder on a wire between 2 trees? It is a quandary for sure...

I had a bear carefully dismantle a birdfeeder piece by piece without damaging any of it. The critter must have had a lot of experience with this type of feeder.

Take the feeders in before dusk. That's when they're most likely to look for a snack. :) although, full disclosure: the squirrels did me in. I gave up on feeders last year because of those critters.

We had one around 6:30 tonight on Sawmill Drive.

The bear on Sawmill is still here- he's moved from the woods to just inside our property line. It's killed a deer and a coyote. Folks in Blanchard Farms or on the Tom Paul path from the center of town might run across him.

We live on Brookview Drive and the Bear has been here twice in the past week.

A bear came through my yard on Gardner Lane in Blanchard Farms on March 15, 2013.

The bear came back to Gardner Lane tonight, March 19, 2013 at 5:15pm. This was a little too close for comfort as it walked up our steps to the front door. We do not have feeders or anything else that would attract. I'll upload pictures and I've also sent them to Animal Control. FYI - My Friday sighting was at 7:09pm. I didn't include that in my earlier post.

A bear was chased by my dogs when he approached my fenced in property at 95 Main St. about 11:30 pm on 19 March 2013.
I wish the WPD would remove this critter to a rural area. IMHO a confrontation between Mr. Bear and Westford residents and/or pets is certain to happen in the very near future.

The bear was seen on Leland rd yesterday...

Word is it is now officially a "nuisance bear" and is on the kill list. Sad for mr bear.

Updated! Let's see where the bears go this week.

I have seen the bear twice and both times when we made a lot of noise, he went off into the woods (away from us). I hope that Dan D's post is wrong.

I hope Dan's post is wrong too. Leave the bear alone. So far, he hasn't hurt anyone - just wants birdseed! Humans took over his territory!

The post from Dan D. is true; at least for the bear we’re seeing around Blanchard Farms. The way it was communicated to our community is below. The points are good and I hope folks will listen and understand. A fed bear is a dead bear.

“A bear trapped itself today on the deck of (address removed) and became disoriented trying to find itself off the deck. The police and environmental police and (name removed) from our office went on site. The bear found its way off the deck before anyone got there.

The police have had a problem with this bear coming close to homes - , labeling it as a nuisance bear. The warm weather brought the bear out too soon from hibernation and it is starving . If it feels trapped it will be aggressive. It is their intent to destroy this bear and they are actively looking for him. We have asked it to be relocated but it is too costly for them to do that.

The environmental police stress that bird seed and other food not be left around as it will bring them closer. Trash should not be left out for long periods of time. Through the kind intent of owners wanting to take care of the wildlife and birds, it is encouraging this behavior which is having the opposite impact that you desire - an animal being destroyed and potential harm to residents.

All owners must immediately remove bird feeders and no food for any wildlife can be put out.”

The bear has demonstrated that he doesn't want anything to do with people. Is it even an option to have him relocated? How much would that cost?

I sure hope they drug and move him. It is not his fault we've forced him off his land when houses get built on what used to be woods. So let's build more 40b projects, cottages under the high voltage wires, xxx number of self storage units and let's not forget our wicked pissah lifestyle mall!

So all the updates from this point on are to inform ACO where the bear is so they can destroy him? I say we stop reporting our sightings!

I don't understand why man continues to destroy wildlife under the guise of "do it for the children" Nice lessons kids are learning today!

I'm not against hunting. I'm against the destruction of this particular bear simply because a few residents jump on the "lions and tigers and bears,OH MY" bandwagon. So he ate some bird seed. Big deal. A squirrel would have eaten his share if he did not get it first.

Yes Mike, Bears are game animals, but one that is almost domesticated is like shooting fish in a barrel. Sedate him, move him and give him a fighting chance. I am not against hunting, a lot of my family and friends hunt. They just don't do it while the game animal is up on someones deck eating.

Instead of posting to this site, pick up your phone and call or email members of the Board of Selectmen, Chief of Police and Conservation Commission and request/demand that an order of protection be issued for Mr. Bear.
Last Fall, the a bear destroyed several bee hives of a neighbor. My neighbor chalked off to nature and replaced the bee hives.
I anyone mentions the high cost of tranquilizing Mr. Bear, you should mention that if the town of Westford can buy bottled water and provide the free use of town owned cars to employees (~$100,000/tear benefits) then the town of Westford can pay for the safe removal of the bear.

I'm beginning to wonder if we need a separate article for opinions on the bear(s) versus tracking the bear(s). Things are beginning to get a little convoluted here.

What do you think, folks?

P.S. -- You can see the hives Jesse's talking about before they were destroyed at this link -- http://westford.patch.com/articles/video-beekeeping-on-main-street

I have yet to read any stories that indicate the bear has been aggressive toward humans. He was on a deck at night...which no doubt had bird seed. I'm sure if the home owner was on the deck, the bear would not have approached. I was under the impression that westford was all about coexisting and respecting wildlife.

Mike, I see your point. I do think there are alternatives to shooting first. Playing the Devils advocate, bears are encroaching on us because again, we are taking over unpopulated area's and building. It's not just Westford, although we are sure doing our part in over building. As the population grows, housing grows and wildlife area's diminish. It's happening in Maine, NH, Vermont, and certainly Ma. If you relocate Mr Bear he has a chance, if you let some yahoo with a badge shoot him some one gets a rug.

Mike bet the deer kill was coyote, They are in my back yard too, as are fisher cat, fox, deer, turkey, the elusive bob cat. I just hope that killing the bear is the last option, that is what I am wishing for.

Doug, I haven't seen a bobcat yet but I've seen fishers, foxes and other wildlife. I hope that sedation and removal of this bear is the first option, but I'm not sure how feasible that is. Remember the bear caught on Cape Cod and relocated to western Mass? He decided he loved the cape because he was later nabbed in Brookline, Mass.

The bear population is growing year over year and the number of bear harvested remains fairly constant. That's one of the reasons there are more bears -- not just in the suburbs -- but throughout the state. It's less about development than absence of natural predators....

Mike, I haven't seen the cat just the tracks. What part of town are you in? I am over on North St near the town garage and the Stony Brook School and EBC are my back yard. I grew up of Boston Rd. I do remember the 'Cape Bear'. I am familiar with the numbers and stats you're quoting. Obviously I would never want to see anyone get hurt, But I can see a bunch of people cornering the bear and him having to get euthanized unnecessarily . If he does i'll arm wrestle you for some of the meat.

people need to take responsibility for where they choose to live.property owners need to change the habits that attract the bear in the first place- bird feeders ,garbage etc, the general public believes that once you relocate a bear it lives happily ever after. not the case.they don't know the area.the other bears make life miserable. They are hungry ,uncomfortable and far away from home.they try to get back and most likely die trying to get back. I don't understand why people continue to put out bird feeders

A good book to purchase is Living with Bears by Linda Masterson . Wonderful book on how to coexist with these wonderful creatures. The reason why I love Westford is that they coexist with nature . Don't stop now! PLEASE SAVE THE BEAR

I guess Mike and Doug are two NRA yahoos.

As long as there is a food source their will be a bear or other animal . Are we going to relocate and shoot everything ?

I don't want to relocate anything, BUT if he's on KILL NOTICE then relocate him first. If you read up you'll notice a post - "The police have had a problem with this bear coming close to homes - , labeling it as a nuisance bear. The warm weather brought the bear out too soon from hibernation and it is starving . If it feels trapped it will be aggressive. It is their intent to destroy this bear and they are actively looking for him. We have asked it to be relocated but it is too costly for them to do that. " 'nuff said.

Thank you Jesse and Doug also. We just have to find a way to coexist with Mr.Bear and his family.

So I have been on the phone with WPD, The Environmental Police and Mass wildlife, NO ONE knows or will say anything, about the bear being a nuisance bear and being actively searched for and ultimately destroyed and not relocated.

One of the biggest 'harvesters" of whitetail fawns is the black bear
.

There are 4 options available to wildlife professionals when dealing with suburban or urban bear situations.

Keeping tabs on the animal from a distance, or "baby-sitting" as it is sometimes called, is often all that is needed to allow the bear to move on. Usually the job becomes more public relations than public safety as officers try to keep people away from the bear.
Trying to encourage the bear to go in a specific direction by using hazing techniques.
If the animal becomes confined to tree, chemical immobilants may be used if the situation warrants this action. Trained staff from MassWildlife and/or the Environmental Police will be on hand to exercise this option.
The last resort, when an immediate threat to public safety exists, is to destroy the bear with a firearm. This is rarely used as an option.

Despite popular belief, black bears are not fierce. Their first response is usually to flee and in woodland areas the bears may disappear long before they are seen. Black bears sometimes can become habituated to human presence and conditioned to human food sources. These circumstances may then lead to damage or depredations which have unfortunate consequences if people then destroy the bear out of fear or to alleviate the damage. Black bears rarely harm people, although minor defensive attacks can occur when people tease or closely approach bears in parks or campgrounds. Female black bears defend their cubs by putting them up a tree. The sows may huff and blow and make short rushes at people who get near the cubs, but will almost never press home an attack. Deliberate predatory attacks are very rare and typically occur in remote areas.

Westford PD just confirmed that the bear is NOT designated for relocation or removal. https://twitter.com/WPDComm

He was back on North St. late yesterday afternoon or last night....

Can we not turn this in to attacks on each other, this page was started for people to let other people know whereabouts the bear is at the moment. Start a blog/forum elsewhere to air your views. Sorry but some people (like me) want to know where the bear is at right now

Thanks Mike and Dawn,

Westford PD also confirmed this on their Facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Westford-Police-Department/265572826803331?ref=ts&fref=ts)

If you want to have opinions on the bears, we can start another article. This article is solely for sightings of the bears, or any other wild animals. Please do not e-mail me, put your sightings here.

That's a good point...I don't think there's any doubt we can live with the bears (they were always here, but maybe not in such numbers) but the issue is whether we can adapt enough to that the bears can live with us.

Limiting bird feeders might be a start, and reviewing good policies about composting is another (I store compost in buckets indoors throughout most of the winter, only making a few additions to the pile when I know I can cover it thoroughly.) Keeping pet food off decks in winter and spring is likely a good bet, too. I planned to start bee hives this summer, but I might wait until I put them within a properly electrified fence.

Bear season starts September 3....;)

Okay folks, I think we're getting off track here, so I've made a thread specifically for comments on the bears (http://westford.patch.com/articles/2013-westford-area-bear-map)

Please put comments there. Please put bear sightings here.

Thanks.

The above link brings you back here.

nope same link

The bear has been spotted at the VFW fields in Forge Village. He must be heading for Groton, a safer community. I hope he an get to Groton Woods which is supervised by the New England Forestry Foundation which forbids the killing of animals on its land. The parcel is about 300 acres with access to the Nashua river.

Meadow Lane. 9am this morning. Spent about 20 minutes in our yard. Took down and emptied our bird feeder and then walked back towards the woods.

Karen

10:46 am on Monday, April 1, 2013

Easter Sunday, March 31st - 300lb. black bear seen at 7pm and 7:30pm by two neighbors on Village View Road. Oh Joy!

(was on the other bear thread, putting it over here. This is for the sightings, that one is for conversation about the bear issue)

Are the bears gone? I'm still looking out for one.

A bear just finished breakfast (the contents of my bird feeder) in my backyard on Meadow Lane. He's getting to be a regular - four times in the last couple of weeks although we only actually saw him twice.

Carol, put your bird feeder away and he wont come visit.

A 'baby' bear was seen crossing North St near the Town Garage at 7:40 last night.

Not a bear but we have spotted a fisher cat several times on Bayberry Rd.

The bear was on Brookview Drive tonight around 6pm.

5:15pm !! on April 9th, Cherry Lane (in that triangle of Depot Street, Dunstable Road, and Tyngsboro Road) no birdfeeders, just at the deck hoping for a free handout............

The bear has made it to Kylemore Drive. Apr 13, 6:30 pm.

We received a message on Friday evening from our neighbor stating there was a large black bear walking down our driveway (Phillips Drive).

A large black bear was in our back yard on Pine Ridge Road last night at 10:30 am (took out the bird feeder and toppled the beehive), then just now we saw it trying to dismantle the beehive in our back yard again. My husband scared it away and I reported it.

I saw a bear on Bridge St on Sunday April 14th

I saw bear on Groton road close to BP gas station around 3PM on Sunday April 21.

I saw a bear at the southwest corner of Lowell Rd and Chamberlain at 8:45 am this morning. It was in the driveway of the house on that corner. As I drove by, it looked at me and turned and headed toward the woods.

Bear went through our back yard on Main Street by Frost last night. Knocked down the bird feeder and knocked over a couple of bee hives.
Sounds like it's probably the same one that demolished 10 or so of my hives here and at Hill Orchard
Guess I'd better check those hives on Hill Orchard and see if he knocked them over also. Lucky that new bee delivery has been delayed by cold weather down in GA. Guess I'll have to string some electric fence as it looks like this guy is back for the year.

Bear was back again this evening about 7.30pm. Totally unscared of people and animals 10 feet away from it in an open window - some pan banging got it moving.

It's unfortunate that last fall somebody in Westford Center went and baited the bear in front of their night cam to get some good pictures. Now it's back and probably the only way to get rid of it will be be a kill order as apparently we don't relocate, even though the one on Cape Cod was relocated twice last year.

Last seen going towards Chelmsford on the north side of Main Street,, probably back towards the forested are around Chamberlain Road and Hill Orchard.

Bear was sighted today at the top of Drawbridge Rd.

Rokoester ...Apr 25. Think the bear was in our yard after bird seed..bent one of the steel poles.
Also heard of a bear over on Crown rd recently too.

Friday night, April 26th -- North Street at the Highway Department. Again, knocked over a nesting box {no food inside}, and opened the bottom door AND THE ANIMAL PROOF top of a PVC compost bin. So now the Bears know how to turn the toggle latches and get inside the bin. Say What?!

Saw a bear around 8:30 pm this evening (Monday, April 29th) behind North Street Auto (on North Street).

That bear gets around! We have put up an electric fence around our hive now and moving it to a new location with more 'robust' electric fencing. Have not put the feeder back up. I miss the birds.

It's more than one bear. If you look at all the pictures you can see differences. The main difference is the coloration around the snout. The bear around the Graniteville area has a darker snout than the bear in the Center area.

I hope the Bear gets left alone and finally finds his way out of this area. I have lived here for 40 years and I have seen Bears in the area since I have been here. The destruction of its habitat and the increased people population (more eyes) is why they are seen more now. If food sources weren't so plentiful in town it would simply leave to find dinner elsewhere. In most cases its not the Bear that's the problem its the people feeding the Bear that's the issue. I wish the infamous Westford Mountain Lion would come back and take the heat off of Mr Bear.

He was spotted just over the line into Groton on Flavell Rd yesterday

We had 2 bears in our back yard on north street a week ago. They were there for 3 days. Played with the kids soccer balls in our back yard during the night and popped them!

Bob, where are you on North St ? I am at 43A

Chelmsford Ma......Brentwood Road
Bear spotted on Monday, June 10 2-5pm.