BAR HARBOR, Maine -- The bear that was first accused of killing two goats and some rabbits in May is now being accused of killing baby rabbits at the same property and not eating them.
While there have been sightings of multiple black bears recently on Mount Desert Island, this behavior has been attributed to one bear that a hunter -- who is also a state animal damage control agent -- has now been permitted to trap and kill.
According to Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Regional Wildlife Biologist Steve Dunham, a bear frequenting the Town Hill area has been accused of the nuisance behavior, and also "causing issues at a nearby dumpster" and having "hit some nearby bird feeders."
"In the case of the Town Hill bear, we had received word that some animals had been killed on a property earlier in the summer, but there was never a pattern, so we recorded the information and provided recommendations on how to better protect their animals," Dunham wrote.
Dunham continued, "More recently, additional animals were killed at the same property and so we now had a developing pattern while simultaneously a bear was causing issues at a nearby dumpster and had hit some nearby bird feeders."
The Town Hill bear and others started being seen and captured in photographs in different areas of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park in the spring. Many of these photos were posted to social media, capturing the public's attention, while also shining light on being "bear aware."
Photos from the Oli's Trolley Facebook page show two different bears traveling together on the Cadillac Mountain Summit Road on July 4.
In his emailed response to the Bar Harbor Story's inquiry, Dunham wrote, "There are other bears on the island, and likely will be more in the future."
Dunham said that he doesn't believe that the Town Hill bear is currently any danger to the public but with a pattern of behavior developing, he feels that removing the bear is the best course of action. Simply trapping and moving the bear is often unsuccessful because the bear will often return to the area from which it was removed, he said.
"I don't take lethal removal lightly and I can understand that some people will be upset with our decision," Dunham wrote.
The hunter to whom Dunham issued a permit to trap and kill the bear had previously inquired about harvesting it under general recreational bear hunting laws. After the second report by the Town Hill resident, Dunham made the decision to issue the permit.
"I issued a permit to trap and kill the bear as we do not want to see an escalation in problematic behavior (killing of livestock, growing comfort around homes)," wrote Dunham.
Perry Moore, who is a Town Hill resident, says that the bear visits his property fairly frequently. Moore said that the bear has caused some minor damage to animal housing and has attempted to get at some of his animals but has not been successful. He has also caught the bear on his game camera a number of times.
"When I heard from my neighbors that the decision had been made to trap and kill the bear, it made me sad. The first time I saw her, she was a yearling cub at the bottom of Frenchman Hill tearing up a stump for beetle larvae three summers ago. She comes around usually at least once a week and sightings have been something that has allowed folks in the neighborhood to engage about and keep in touch," said Moore.
"... Those things come with the territory when one lives next to several hundred acres of mostly unfragmented forest. It is a chore to keep my domestic critters safe and minimize opportunities for wildlife to get themselves into trouble, but I accept that as a consequence of my choices and embrace doing them."
Local and Acadia National Park officials have been educating the public about bear awareness and minimizing incidents.
"I would like to remind folks on the island that the best way to prevent future issues is to secure all potential sources of food on a property including bird feed, animal feed, trash, grills, etc.," Dunham wrote.
Dunham also wanted to remind people that only the hunting of deer is prohibited on Mount Desert Island and in theory, any of the bears not on park property could be legally hunted. The bear season has already started and runs from Aug. 25 to Nov. 29 this year.
Dunham wrote, "Hunting and trapping are the main tools we have to manage wildlife populations."
Successfully trapping a bear takes a combination of skill and luck, according to Dunham, and if this bear, or any bear that may live in the area, is not trapped this hunting season, then the IF&W will continue to monitor reports of their activities, look for future issues and "respond accordingly."
If the bear is trapped and killed, Durham said that the hunter intends to "fully utilize the harvested animal."