Four bears in a tree in Sharon

SHARON — Several people called The Lakeville Journal last week with reports of a quartet of bears sitting in a tree in Sharon  on April 2  — but no one had any photos to share.

Until now. Richard Gottlieb, a doctor with a residence in Sharon, sent four photos taken at around 3 p.m. that day. And he related the following tale of finding the treed bears:

“I was watering the sheep when the phone rang in the barn. It was the voice of Sharon’s fire marshal and building inspector, Stanley McMillan: â€˜There are four bears in a tree. Your wife wants you to come to the corner of Fairchild and Lucas Roads.’

“I ran to the car and sped the one mile to the tall pine tree next to the Craigs’ driveway. A few people had gathered and were looking up, as tourists do in a Manhattan canyon. There were the four bears, a mother and her three children of about one-and-a-half years.

“There were two theories circulating about how they had gotten there: (1) a dog had scared them up the tree, or (2) they had spent the night in the tree and were afraid to come down because of the people standing about.

“The sow occupied the lowest branches, her cubs were perched on branches higher up. It was 10 a.m. and they seemed sleepy or sluggish, their movements reminiscent of three-toed sloths one sees in Central America.

“I had brought my camera, a pocket-size Canon equipped with a 4.0x (optical) and up to 16x (optical plus electronic) zoom lens. The nearest bear was a good 25 feet up. I despaired of getting any decent pictures but tried anyway. As expected, at 16x the picture on the viewscreen was blurred and jumped around.

“But what I had not anticipated was how utterly effective the electronic image stabilization was, in the end rendering the images crystal clear.

“Word spread quickly. This was the most exciting news to hit Sharon in decades. Adults and children arrived in cars with cameras. It got hectic, but no one was selling peanuts. Most stayed for a while and then left.

“Eventually, a state trooper and officers of the Connecticut DEP arrived with a dart rifle, intending, I was told, to sedate the mother and outfit her with a radio collar. Yes, I was told, she would fall out of the tree, but bears never get injured from that. They’re remarkably tough — all muscle.

“I didn’t believe it, but I was unable to stay and watch the proceedings. The next morning I checked the tree. They were gone. So far they have not returned.�

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