The Wandering Bear: An Obituary
By Steve Cotton
September 27, 2022: The first black bear in living memory to visit the Foster's Pond area, caught on a security camera on Pomeroy Road. Photo courtesy of Jim Cyrier.
It spent only a few days in Andover, circling Foster's Pond before heading off to Middleton and its rendezvous with destiny, but while here it became an instant celebrity.
The young bruin - the first in living memory to be seen in Andover - had already made quite a stir in nearby communities. There were reported sightings in Woburn, Tewksbury, Lowell, Wilmington (in mid-July), Middleton and North Reading, where on August 22 it was sedated by State officials and "relocated" to "nearby woods," only to re-emerge into public view in North Andover four days later. (A bear seen in Danvers in early September was at first thought by officials to be the same bear, but later they indicated it might have been a different one.) Along the way, the bear that passed through Andover seemed to rack up more sightings than Elvis and more video clips than a Kardashian, while visiting more houses than the postman.
In Andover, a Willard Circle resident spotted the bear taking down his bird feeder on the Andover/Wilmington boundary on September 24. Thereafter, the bear roamed on a clockwise course around the Pond, with sightings reported on White Oak Drive, Dundas Circle, Pomeroy Road (where it killed two chickens and damaged an enclosure), Foster's Pond Road, Carter Lane, Azalea Drive, Donna Road, and eventually County Road (where it reared on its hind legs and leaned against a chicken enclosure but did no harm to the chickens, then proceeded onward, while ignoring nearby bee hives). It was also seen on Farrwood Drive. While in Andover, according to Animal Control Officer Katie Kozikowski, it damaged three chicken coops and killed six chickens.
According to news reports, the bear killed two goats in Middlleton on September 29, then returned to the same property the following morning and killed 8 chickens. The homeowner shot him.and called police. State environmental officials said they were almost certain that all the sightings (apart, perhaps, from Danvers) were of the same bear.
September 27, 2022: The bear ambles through an Azalea Drive yard on the shore of the Pond's Mill Reservoir. Click on the image to see a short video. Photo by Holly Burns.
A bear is an awesome creature, at once reminding us of Winnie-the-Pooh and terrifying us with its brute strength. It fills a niche in our ecosystem, and it generally tries to keep to itself and stay out of harm's way. As a guide on our most recent African safari mused about a different wild animal foraging for food amid untold perils, "He's just trying to make a living."
We're not used to bears in Andover. Having lived here for nearly 50 years, I have never before heard of a bear in this area.
It's a different story in Alaska, where Becci and I have spent a good deal of time. There, you hike with bear bells on your pack, bear spray close at hand, and - if you're an Alaskan of a certain mindset - a gun. It seems almost everyone has a bear story to tell, either about a first-hand encounter or that of a friend. We've been close to bears. Sharing a fishing stream with a black bear, us in a kayak and the bear ankle-deep near the bank. Holding our breath as we awoke to see two playful cubs in our beached canoe on the shore of Prince William Sound, their mother standing watch, the family eventually leaving without so much as a scratch on the canoe. A brown bear silently passing within yards of our small group on a bear-watching trip to Katmai National Park. The inquisitive polar bear cub near the Beaufort Sea village of Kaktovik, swimming towards us as we bobbed off-shore in a small boat, our captain throwing the idling engine into reverse and backing quickly away, lest the mother swim out to protect her baby by capsizing the boat.
In Alaska, most people recognize that the bears haven't invaded our territory. We've invaded theirs. In Massachusetts, wildlife officials tell us that we'll be seeing more bears. The black bears are returning. They were relegated to Western Massachusetts, but they are moving back east. The State has published several brochures with advice on how to prepare. Katie Kozikowski sent me some to share:
Prevent Negative Encounters With Bears
Recommendations for Human – Black Bear Encounters
Electric Fencing Guide to Protect Bee Hives and Chicken Coops
Protect Your Hives from Black Bears
Protect Your Chickens from Black Bears
"Ultimately," Katie wrote me in an email, "we will have to learn to coexist with the animals in our area." When you see the next bear, it may help to remember: He's just trying to make a living.
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