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Long winter’s nap for Granville’s trouble bear?
What do game management officials suggest Granville official do now they it’s been a week since a black bear was seen several times in the village?
Nothing.
Police Chief Ernie Bassett Jr. Said Dec. 22 the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has no plans to remove the bear from Granville saying they hope it will essentially remove itself.
The bear was last seen in the village late on the night of Dec. 20 when police pushed it out of the village near the Tractor Supply Store location.
The bear crossed Route 22 and continued into the woods.
DEC officers discussed possibly live-trapping the bear or darting it and removing it from the area, but given the weather and expected conditions for late December and early January the best course of action was determined to be no action at all.
“They sent us a pamphlet called ‘Living with Bears’,” Bassett said.
After several bear sightings in the town and village between Dec. 13 and Dec. 20 officials said they hope nature will take its course and no action will need to be taken with the animal spotted raiding garbage’s and in one case tearing up the apiaries of a Beecher Road man.
Region 5 spokesperson Dave Winchell said it was hoped an expected snap of cold weather and a relatively meager source of food from village trash cans should prompt the bear to sleep for the rest of the winter.
Winchell said black bears do not truly hibernate and as a result will remain awake if food remains plentiful. In this case, food is not expected to be plentiful.
With freezing temperatures, natural food sources become scarce and prompt most bears to go into a den and sleep, Winchell said.
As the bear has not caused great damage, with the notable exception of Pat Imbimbo’s honey bee apiaries which were totally destroyed, or been aggressive village officials decided to continue to chase the bear off when it was sighted.
Previously, during the big game hunting season, darting the animal was ruled out as the potential existed for hunters to harvest meat tainted by tranquilizer drugs.
Police attempted to shoot the bear with rubber buckshot in hopes that shock might drive the animal off but were not able to line up a safe shot.
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