Black bear and cub remind residents why you should lock your car if you live near wildlife

A black bear and its cub destroyed the inside of a car after becoming stuck.

The adult bear and cub thrashed about while the horn was blaring and the radio blasting, witnesses said. Outside the car, a second cub ran around in apparent distress by the home in Connecticut.

State environmental conservation police were called by the startled vehicle owner on the morning of July 15. They opened a door, and the two bears ran off into the woods safe and sound with the third bear. The car's interior, however, wasn't so fortunate: It was completely torn apart.

The incident in Winsted, in the state's northwest corner not far from Massachusetts, was documented in photos and video taken by the car's owner, who captured images of the bears in the car and the resulting destruction on a cellphone. Officials believe they got in the vehicle by opening a door, but it's not clear how the door then closed.

Over a week, there have been three episodes involving bears in Connecticut that were publicly reported by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection — another sign of the increasing black bear population in the state.

On Saturday, a woman reported being bitten by a black bear in a backyard in Cheshire. She suffered minor injuries and declined treatment, officials said. Environmental conservation police found and euthanized the bear, which was taken away for testing.

On Sunday, a nearly 500-pound (227-kilogram) black bear was struck and killed by a car on a highway in Torrington, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said.

While bears have been breaking into cars, trash bins and homes in the western US for a long time, such incidents were rare in Connecticut a few decades ago. They're now a growing phenomenon.

In June, a black bear was shot to death in Canton by a person who claimed self-defense. Last year, a bear barged into a bakery in Avon, scared employees and helped itself to 60 cupcakes before ambling away. In 2022, a bear damaged the insides of two vehicles in Cornwall.

There also have been a few non-fatal bear attacks on humans reported in the state over the past two years, and an increasing number of bears entering homes, state officials say.

“Always keep your car doors locked if bears occur in your area and never allow them easy access to human-sourced food," Ethan Van Ness, a senior adviser at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said in a statement.

State officials said bears began returning to the region in the 1980s and their populations have been steadily increasing. There are now an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 bears in Connecticut, with sightings in all 169 towns in recent years but more concentrated in the state's northwestern corner.