Swimming black bear in Seacoast NH and Maine a uncommon sight

• A younger black bear has been noticed swimming off the coast of Rye, NH and Kittery, Maine.
• Officials imagine the bear is a yearling lately separated from its mom and isn’t a menace.
• Authorities advise the general public to maintain their distance and safe meals sources like trash and chicken feeders.
• While black bears are discovered all through New Hampshire, sightings are unusual within the Seacoast area.

RYE — A younger male black bear has captivated locals and boaters in latest days. The roughly four-foot-tall mammal has been noticed swimming in shallow waters off native seashores and state parks.

Officials from the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department and native police say the bear, believed to be roughly 1 12 months previous, isn’t in peril or threatening and is to start with phases of life by itself.

Justin Whipple, a Seacoast-based conservation officer for Fish and Game, started receiving stories of the bear on June 3, and so they continued by means of the weekend.

“He was probably last year’s cub. It’s pretty common this time of year for mothers to kick out last year’s cubs because they have newborns this year,” Whipple mentioned. “They’re big enough and old enough to survive on their own, but they’re left to their own devices to find new food sources.”

Initial calls concerning the bear, estimated to weigh between 75 and 80 kilos, started after Rye residents discovered him trying to feed of their yards, in keeping with Whipple.

Where has the bear been noticed?

The bear was captured on video swimming off the shores of New Castle towards Kittery, Maine, and was later seen round Odiorne Point State Park in Rye.

Rye Police Chief Scott Blaisdell can’t recall a earlier occasion the place residents known as in stories of a swimming black bear. 

“We’re working closely with Fish and Game and staying in contact with them to stay abreast of it,” Blaisdell.

John Brosnihan, Kittery’s harbormaster since 2018, noticed basking sharks lately off Pepperrell Cove, and he is additionally a kind of who witnessed the bear within the water. 

He known as the swimming bear a “first for me, as properly … I’ve seen squirrels swimming within the river and creeks.”

Bears aren’t common in Seacoast NH

Black bears are found in all 10 New Hampshire counties, though they’re rare in the Seacoast, Whipple reported. New Hampshire Fish and Game states adult male black bears range up to 120 square miles, while adult females range only about 10 square miles.

Whipple stated the black bear population is expanding further south into Massachusetts and Connecticut. The conservation officer had not received calls about a black bear in the Seacoast for several years until last week.

Keep your distance, public is advised

Whipple and Rye police searched Odiorne Point for the young bear and located it Saturday, June 6. From a distance, Whipple saw the bear, which then ran off at the sight of humans, indicating it likely wouldn’t aggressively approach any passerby unless provoked.

However, officials said, children and pets should still be carefully monitored outdoors after a black bear sighting. 

“As with all wildlife, keep your distance. Black bears aren’t inherently dangerous. Typically they’re more afraid of us than we are of them,” Whipple said.

Food sources for black bears, including scraps in trash cans, leftovers on grills and birdfeeders, should be brought indoors between April 1 and Dec. 1 each year, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game recommendations.

Additional stories of the black bear must be made to Fish and Game and native police, officers mentioned.