By Charlotte Redman
Staff Writer

Today at 2:10 p.m. residents of Westford sighted a black bear on Hartford Road. Much of the traffic leaving the high school stopped to observe the unusual event.

Middle schooler Rhea Sen was walking home at the time, and decided to seek safety at her neighbor’s house.

“I didn’t think I’d be able to make it home,” said Sen.

The bear was moving through the yards of Hartford Road residents, but came to a halt when it found a bird feeder, which it demolished along with the food.

While the bear was consuming the bird feeder, the resident of 20 Hartford Road took the opportunity to call the Westford Police Department and Westford Animal Control.

The Westford Police Department proceeded to call WA to warn them of the bear sighting and sent a cruiser to the scene.

The officer that arrived blared the cruiser’s sirens to scare the bear off. He left after seeing it move into the nearby woods.

Later, the bear was spotted on Patten Road moving towards Rooks Way and route 225 (Concord Road) by a pedestrian. It was approximately 4:30 p.m.

On March 8, the Westford Police Department posted a warning on Facebook which said, “It appears our resident bear is up from his winter nap so as a reminder and recommendation the Massachusetts Fisheries & Wildlife and the Westford Police Department STRONGLY recommend that you bring in your bird feeders, put your trash out just prior to pick up and do not feed your pets outside.”

They requested that all residents read about how to prevent conflict with black bears.

In order to prevent conflict there are three main suggestions:

First, residents should remove or secure all accessible outside food sources.

Second, protect yourself by remaining indoors and away from the bear if there has been a sighting nearby.

If outside then move slowly away and if it approached then speak softly to prove not to be a threat.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, “Bears are generally shy creatures and don’t want to come face-to-face with you any more than you want to meet up with them.”

Third, keep your pets under control and be wary of letting them outside unsupervised.

Read more about bear safety here.