Roaming bear shot from tree in village

LOWVILLE — State Department of Environmental Conservation officers shot a black bear that wandered into the village Monday morning.

At 7:13 a.m., a village resident reported seeing a male bear, which DEC officials estimated at 300 pounds, moving east on Water Street, Lowville Police Sgt. James M. Monnat said. The bear wandered into a yard near the Mill Creek Apartments project — the renovation of two apartment buildings by Snow Belt Housing Co. Inc. on Water Street, near Park Avenue — and climbed a tree, Sgt. Monnat said.

When DEC officials arrived on scene, they decided to shoot the bear. They said the nearest available tranquilizer gun was in Brownville, and they feared the fall would kill the animal anyway.

"They made the decision just to dispatch it," Sgt. Monnat said.

When shot, the bear got caught in a crotch of the tree. Contractors from Con Tech Systems Inc. who are working on the apartment project used their equipment to remove the dead animal and bring it to the street. The carcass was taken to the DEC field office in Dadville, Sgt. Monnat said.

He said this is the first time in his 23-year career that he has seen a bear come into the village.

Although it was the first in decades for Lowville, a DEC official said black bears are becoming less bashful about mixing with humans.

"It's becoming more and more frequent," said Stephen W. Litwhiler, DEC spokesman in the Watertown office, noting the Adirondack bear population is on the rise.

He said most bear sightings in populated areas occur at the outskirts, and the animals should be allowed to wander off on their own without creating a public safety hazard.

That wasn't the case Monday, since the bear was so close to downtown, he said.

The animal likely was roaming through area cornfields trying to put on extra weight for the winter and "got stuck in Lowville when the sun came up," Mr. Litwhiler said.

"It appeared to be a healthy bear," he said.

A picture of the bear has been posted on the village Web site.

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Village of Lowville:

www.villageoflowville.org.