Black Bear Sightings Rise in Farmington
- State data show increasing black bear activity reported in Farmington so far in 2026. - State wildlife records list numerous Farmington sightings this year, mirroring increased statewide bear reports. - Residents are urged to secure trash, supervise pets, and report encounters to authorities (patch.com).
Black bear sightings are piling up in Farmington this spring, putting the town among Connecticut’s busiest bear-reporting hotspots. (patch.com) Patch, citing Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection data published April 13, reported 61 Farmington sightings so far in 2026. That trailed only West Hartford, Simsbury and Torrington at the time. (patch.com) By mid-April, statewide reports had climbed higher. Hearst Connecticut Media reported 1,049 black bear sightings across 105 municipalities, with Farmington at 64, behind West Hartford’s 95 and Simsbury’s 79. (yahoo.com) Those counts come from a public DEEP map that tracks current-year bear, bobcat and moose reports submitted by residents and reviewed by agency staff. DEEP says the map reflects reports from the current year only. (ctdeep.maps.arcgis.com) Connecticut officials say spring is when bear activity jumps because animals leave winter dens and start looking for easy calories. DEEP said April 1 that unsecured trash, bird seed and pet food are the main drivers of human-bear conflicts. (portal.ct.gov) Farmington’s numbers fit a longer statewide pattern. DEEP says annual black bear sightings have risen dramatically since bears reestablished a resident population in Connecticut in the 1980s after disappearing from the state by the mid-1800s. (portal.ct.gov) The state’s latest warning focused less on seeing a bear than on feeding one by accident. DEEP said bears that get used to human food become more comfortable near people and are more likely to damage houses, cars, pets and livestock. (portal.ct.gov) Officials are telling residents to take down bird feeders in spring, summer and fall, keep trash in secure containers, store pet food indoors and avoid putting bins at the curb the night before pickup. DEEP’s wildlife viewer says emergencies involving wild animals should go to its dispatch line, while routine sightings can be filed through the state reporting system. (portal.ct.gov) (ctdeep.maps.arcgis.com) For Farmington, the story is not a single bear wandering through town. It is a steady run of reports in a community that now sits near the center of Connecticut’s expanding bear range. (portal.ct.gov)
