AVON, Conn. (WTNH) — Bear sightings happen all the time across Connecticut, but how many bears are really hibernating in our state?

News 8’s Bob Wilson joined a team of Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) biologists on Friday who are tracking the growing population in Connection.

News 8’s Bob Wilson holds a small cub.

The team visited a home in the Farmington Valley where they tranquilized a mother bear. They checked on her and her young cubs, spending the winter beneath a house.

“This is pretty common for our bears here in Connecticut,” said Jason Hawley, a wildlife biologist. “We are starting to see more and more denning underneath porches and decks. It’s a pretty common call we get in the winter.”

Tranquilizing the bears allows the DEEP team to check the animals’ health. The team will then check the bears’ vitals. That includes getting their weight, measuring their ears and microchipping them.

The DEEP team worked to tranquilize the bear under the home.

A General Assembly committee this week decided not to act on a proposal for a limited bear season.

Connecticut has as many as 1,200 bears, with the average sow producing 2.6 offspring each year.

“The bear population in Connecticut is very healthy, based on this reproductive study that we do,” Hawley said. “And we will also look at first-year survival for these cubs. It’s very high, so we expect the population to increase and keep expanding by at least 10% per year.”

Find out more information on the state of the bears in Connecticut via DEEP here.