Game wardens euthanize aggressive bear in Underhill

May 25, 2024 | By Waterbury Roundabout 

Vermont’s bears are out, in search of food and already involved in conflicts with humans, one of which turned deadly for the bear on Friday.

Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department game wardens on Friday morning responded to an aggressive bear in Underhill that resulted in the bear being euthanized, the department said in a news release. “The bear’s behavior was judged a risk to public safety,” officials said.  

Birdfeeders are a food source close to humans that will attract black bears. File photo by Vermont Fish & Wildlife

State wildlife officials remind Vermonters of the steps necessary to prevent bear conflicts, the most important of which is to secure any food sources that could attract bears to yards and neighborhoods such as garbage, recycling, and backyard chickens and bees.  “To be most effective, whole neighborhoods and towns need to be consistent in keeping bear attractants secure,” their announcement states.

The now-deceased bear in Underhill was attracted into a yard by recycling left outside the front door, officials said. The homeowner scared the bear off around 5:15 a.m. and removed the recycling but the bear repeatedly returned and “showed no fear of people and acted aggressively,” according to the report.

A game warden responded to the homeowner’s call and confirmed that the bear’s behavior was aggressive. “After the bear adopted a predatory stance with its head lowered and began to approach and circle the responding game warden, the warden euthanized the bear,” the account states.  

State Game Warden Lt. Robert Currier said that no one wants bear conflicts to escalate to the point that killing the bear is necessary to protect public safety. “Vermonters have a responsibility to stop these kinds of conflicts before they escalate by making sure bears are not attracted to our homes by easy access to foods like unsecured garbage, birdfeeders, or unprotected backyard chickens and bees,” he said. “Proactive conflict prevention is the safest thing for the bears, and for people.”

The bear in this incident was estimated to be about 100 lbs. and it was the subject of multiple previous reports of aggressive behavior from multiple residents over the past several weeks. 

Find more information on preventing conflicts with bears before they happen on the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department website.

before they escalate is available on the department’s website.