Community in "code red" after bear sighting

SEYMOUR, Conn. (WTNH) -- Folks in Seymour are being warned to be on the lookout for bears. The warning comes after a black bear was spotted twice in the area of Skokorat St., near the Beacon Falls town line.

"I went out to the back window, and I saw something on the bird feeders, and I thought it was a large man," said Paul Thompson.

"You thought it was a guy," asked News 8's Jamie Muro.

"I thought it was a guy, he had his back to me," Thompson said.

It was when the "man" turned his head that Thompson grabbed his camera and captured a scene out of National Geographic.

"I made sure my mom was inside, then I proceeded to call the police," Thompson said.

As Seymour's finest made their way to Thompson's neighborhood, he watched in amazement. Almost a decade living here and he's seen a lot of wildlife, but never a bear. And now a community has been placed on a "Code Red" by town officials.

"He was grabbing the line with one paw, pulling it down, and with his other paw, grabbed the bird feeder, destroying it in the process," said Thompson, "tipping it and pouring it into his mouth."

"Like a cup," asked Muro.

"Like a cup, like a glass of water, like you and I would drink a glass of water, he was just drinking bird seed down," Thompson said.

According to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, this is the first bear sighting in Seymour in the past year. There's been more than 1,500 state wide. Bear populations in the state are increasing, with sighting's like Thompson's becoming more and more common in residential areas.

"I do not want to be out here mowing the lawn or doing anything if that guy came into the backyard," Thompson said.

Thompson's "National Geographic" moment ended in minutes, with the black bear lumbering back into the woods. Even if he didn't have his camera the impressive view is stuck in his mind.

"It was definitely a sight to be hold," Thompson said, "and it was just shocking to see the strength he had and the sheer size of him."

To find out more about the do's and do not's when encountering black bears, visit DEEP's website .