NEWBURY, Vt. — A recreational boater found a female black bear that had been shot, killed and dumped near a boat ramp on the Connecticut River in Newbury, Vt., on Monday morning.
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is now seeking the public’s help in figuring out how the lactating bear ended up in the river, according to a Monday evening news release from the department. “The bear had died from a gunshot wound.”
Under state law, it is illegal to kill a bear outside of hunting season — which runs from Sept. 1 through Nov. 22 this year — unless it is in defense of their property, Lt. Mike Scott, a St. Johnsbury-based game warden, who is investigating the incident. Those who violate the law can be fined up to $2,000.
“There are proper channels they have to go through if that happens,” Scott said. “First and foremost they need to call a game warden promptly.”
The department is following up on tips it has received and is asking anyone who has “any information or saw anything suspicious” around the fishing area — which is located on Newbury Crossing Road off Route 5 — on Monday or before to contact Scott at 802-748-3111. Anonymous tips can also be submitted via vtfishandwildlife.com/contact/report-a-violation.
Scott responded to the scene Monday morning after receiving a call from someone who saw the bear when they were preparing to use the boat launch. The bear was found around six feet from the ramp in a muddy area, which Scott described as “unusual.”
“Because of the mud situation, I don’t believe it floated down the river,” Scott said in a Tuesday phone interview, adding that he believes someone backed a vehicle down the boat ramp and dumped the bear into the water.
Scott went into the river to grab the bear, which he estimated weighed around 120 lbs.
“The bear had not putrified at all,” Scott said, adding that its hair was still attached to its body. “That tells me the time of death was recently.”
The bear was not tagged, had no distinguishing markings and was not on the department’s radar as causing issues in the area, Scott said. It’s also possible the bear was killed outside of Newbury and brought to the boat launch to be dumped.
“We can’t tell a New Hampshire bear from a Vermont bear,” Scott said.
The bear was still producing milk, which means that it had given birth to cubs in the last few years. There is no way to tell from the bear’s body how old its cubs were, if they were still relying on her for milk or if they are more independent, Scott said. So far, there have been no reports of orphaned cubs in the area and the department has no plans to look for them.
“To comb the landscape looking for cubs would be impractical at best,” Scott said.
Bears are active this time of year and looking for food, which can lead to more interaction with humans, Scott said, noting the department has received quite a few complaints recently. People must remove bird feeders and secure backyard chicken, among other “baseline steps we expect the public to take … before a bear is killed unnecessarily,” Scott said.
“A bear is going to choose to eat something like birdseed every day of the week rather than foraging for roots and what berries might be available this time of year,” he added. “It does not end well for the bears.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
