Watch: Camera catches bear hanging out on Tyngsborough deck

Local News

Yogi Bear left Jellystone for a night on the town in Middlesex County.

An outdoor camera caught a bear hanging out on a homeowner’s deck in Tyngsborough Sunday night. 

The bear was probably attracted to a container of old lettuce on the deck, Elyse Wolf of Tyngsborough, the homeowner whose Blink camera caught the bear in action, said. 

 “We’ve caught bears before. We’ve actually stopped putting birdseed out in the summer because of the bears,” Wolf said. 

The bear might not have gotten the snack he was hoping for, but he made some friends along the way. 

Wolf’s three cats Dobbie, Loki, and Lucy were peeking from the window as the bear strolled the deck. 

“It wouldn’t surprise me if at least one or two of [the cats] were looking at the bear like ‘Hey, you want to come play with us?’”

Bear sightings are a common occurrence in Tyngsborough. 

Wolf is an administrator for the Tyngsborough Bear Sightings Facebook group. She posted her video to the group on Monday. 

Just a day before Wolf posted her video, a bear was seen walking through one person’s backyard on Patriot Road. 

“I wonder where Boo Boo is,” one commenter wrote, referencing Yogi Bear’s sidekick. 

Black bears live and breed in northern Middlesex county, as well as Worcester County, and west to the Berkshires, according to MassGov. Though recently, bears have been expanding into southeastern Massachusetts. 

If a bear decides to visit a backyard near you, Mass.gov advises that you leave the animal alone, and eventually it should go away on its own.

Young male bears will often go off by themselves to avoid competing with other male bears in their area, MassWildlife biologist Dave Wattles told Boston.com. Looking for food, the young bears will often end up near people who’ve left food outside, have fruit trees or bushes, or have beehives.

To keep bears away,  avoid putting out bird feeders, store garbage and compost in closed containers, preferably in a garage, and don’t leave pet food outdoors, according to Mass.gov.