A bear spotted in Hanson, Massachusetts, in the summer of 2023.
Multiple bear sighting in Hanson, Massachusetts, have residents on the lookout — especially after a bear broke into a barn on Bayberry Road and dragged a goat off into the woods on Tuesday, police say.
“We’ve had I think four or five goats killed at different farms or attacked anyway this year by bears,” said Jason Zimmer, the southeast district manager for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.
The farm owners tell NBC10 Boston that their goats were locked securely inside the barn when the bear broke in.
“This one in Hanson is a pretty large bear, so they can get in through fencing into not super-secure structures if they wanna get into it for food,” Zimmer said.
But this isn’t the first time neighbors in Hanson have seen bears. Over the summer on Monponsett Street, a bear was caught on camera walking around a honey stand.
“In the neighborhood, he’s been around,” said Everett Mattson, the owner of the stand.
The bear also knocked over bird feeders in a neighbor's yard.
“I called my husband and I’m like, 'Honey, what happened to my feeders?!” Karma Warsheski said.
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Warsheski has lived in the area for 27 years and says she hadn’t seen bears until the last few months. Zimmer says neighbors might start to see more bears in the future.
"It's a guarantee. It’s gonna happen as the bear population continues to recover and grow and expand — we’ll have a whole population of bears in southeastern Massachusetts," he said.
In order to avoid bears visiting the neighborhood, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife recommends that residents remove bird feeders and secure their trash.
