Were Black Bears Really Seen in Dartmouth Woods?

DARTMOUTH (WBSM) — A black bear mother and her cub have been reported in the woods of Dartmouth, but an expert for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife is questioning if that’s what was actually seen.

According to a Facebook post from the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust, the mama and baby bear were spotted in the Paskamansett Woods-Gidley Woods. The 11-plus acre site is located off Chase Road.

Nick Wildman, Executive Director of the DNRT, said the bear and her cub were spotted at the historic “Kings Highway” granite bridge that dates back to the early 1800s.

“We got a call by a woman around 8 a.m. on (September 11) who called us from a trail at Paskamansett Woods who said she was in the vicinity of a mother and cub, and she was concerned about her safety.”

Black Bear Sightings Rising on the SouthCoast

The black bear population has been on the rise on the SouthCoast in recent years. What was originally characterized by MassWildlife as a few bears wandering into the region looking for food or a mate has now become a more frequent visitation.

DNRT Shares Safety Tips for Bear Encounters

The DNRT said “black bear attacks are very uncommon” and that the bears “rarely become aggressive when encountered.” However, the concern in this case is that it is a mother and her cub, in which case the mother will protect her cub if she feels it is being threatened.

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“If you do encounter a bear, talk loudly in a calm voice and back away slowly. Do not approach the bear,” the DNRT wrote in the post. “Keep your dog on leash and never allow them to chase or interact with bears.”

The DNRT also reminded hikers and walkers to always be aware of their surroundings.

MassWildlife has an online resource with information about black bears in Massachusetts.

MassWildlife Expert Casts Doubt on Sighting

Dave Wattles, Black Bear & Furbearer Biologist for MassWildlife, said it is “not impossible, but unlikely” that what was seen in the Dartmouth woods was a mother bear and cub.

“I’m skeptical that that is an accurate sighting. Likely it is someone who saw something, that they are mistakenly calling a sow with cubs,” Wattles told WBSM.

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Wattles said there haven’t been any bear sightings in Southeastern Massachusetts this year since very early in the year.

“It is fairly easy to track the bears as the sightings come in, in your portion of the state,” he said. “I would be very surprised to have a sow with cubs in that area and the first sighting to be at that location. Not impossible, but unlikely.”

DNRT Director Says Bears Are Here

Wildman said that while there are “certainly good people at MassWildlife,” the DNRT does get bear sightings “typically about once a year.”

“We typically hear of bear sightings and our staff has seen bear footprints at some of our reserves,” he said. “The sightings here in Dartmouth on our reserves don’t get reported often, but it does happen – but this is the first time of a report of a bear and a cub.”

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Bears probably love the beauty and peace of the DNRT reserves just as much as humans do, so it would make sense that they would be there if they are indeed in the area.

“The truth is, bears are out there whether we see them or not,” Wildman said. “It’s fortunate we don’t see them, because that means they’re living their lives and aren’t dependent on humans.”

Photo Opportunity Missed

Wildman said his only disappointment was that he didn’t get to the bridge to snap a photo of the bears in time; some other hikers had arrived with dogs, and the dogs scared the bears off with their barking.

“That would have been a very iconic photo at that bridge,” he said.