There can be a lot of misconceptions about why bears in Connecticut wear ear tags.
But as sightings (this is a bumper crop year) and potential bear issues (yes, there have been reported conflicts) become more common, it is important for residents to understand what the tags signify.
This is because ear tags are often interpreted in Connecticut as meaning that it is a “conflict bear” and that the “number of tags corresponds to the number of instances the bear was involved in a human/bear conflict” or that there’s a “a strike system” related to ear tags, according to the state Department of energy and Environmental Protection.
This is not correct.
In fact, according to DEEP, each “bear handled by Wildlife Division staff is marked with brightly colored ear tags” and the tags “have numbers unique to each individual, and the color of the tag indicates the year the bear was handled.”
So, for example, the color orange signifies 2018, according to DEEP. Current tags have a three-digit number code, but older ones might have two numbers “and/or letter code.”
A black bear photographed by the DEEP in 2005. Ear tags are used by the department to track and study Connecticut bears. Paul J. Fusco / CT DEEP-Wildlife
Given this, a bear “with orange ear tags marked ‘038’ would be the third bear handled in 2018,” the agency noted.
Further, according to DEEP, when “an untagged bear is captured by the Wildlife Division, whether related to research efforts, conflict, or the rare occasion a bear finds itself in an unsafe area like downtown Hartford, it is anesthetized, measured and weighed, and its overall physical health is assessed.”
Then the bear is given a PIT tag, which is similar to a pet microchip and is marked with ear tags, one in each ear, according to the agency.
DEEP also noted:
- Sighting reports of bears with and without ear tags yield valuable information on distribution and abundance of bears in towns throughout the state,
- Bears tagged in Connecticut have traveled as far as Vermont,
- Bears tagged in New York, Massachusetts, and even Pennsylvania have shown up in Connecticut,
- Ear tags can also help identify individual bears.
While most black bears in Connecticut “have not been tagged, and it is not unusual to see a bear with only a single ear tag. While ear tags are a cost-effective way of marking bears, they sometimes fall off or break,” the agency said.
More to know about Connecticut bears
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says 2024 brought a record high of 68 documented home entries by bears.
Unhealthy looking CT black bear euthanized after “making contact” with woman
“Conflicts with bears have tripled in recent years in Connecticut and bears have been observed in all of the state’s 169 cities and towns,” DEEP has said. “Given the already high rate of human-bear conflicts in 2024, DEEP is urging residents to practice vigilance as we enter a time of year when bears are particularly active as they increase feeding ahead of the winter denning season.”
Also, per DEEP:
- During fall months, bears become very active as they seek to maximize their food intake to add needed fat reserves prior to the winter denning season.
- Bears forage for calorie-packed nuts and seeds for up to 20 hours a day in a race against the clock. This annual power-eating marathon is called “hyperphagia.”
- During hyperphagia, bears can eat upwards of 20,000 calories a day – 10 times the calories they normally consume.
- Their goal is to put on as much weight and insulating fat as possible before the winter denning season.
- A pound of acorns has about 2,100 calories; a pound of blueberries, just 256 calories. It takes many hours of foraging each day for bears to find 20,000 calories’ worth of nuts and berries.
- Connecticut’s landscape provides plenty of natural food for bears.
- Just one bird feeder full of black oil sunflower seed or one garbage container with leftovers can reward a bear with a day’s worth of calories for less than an hour’s work, making human-provided foods very attractive for bears during the fall.
Body of dead bear seen in CT wildlife disposal area. Why the spot is off-limits to everyone.
“While the number of human-bear conflicts varies from year to year, the overall trend from the past five years shows a dramatic increase, and this year’s record-breaking number of home entries is especially concerning from a safety perspective,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes has said.
