Bears Make Several Visits, Take a Peek Inside Garage

The bears were busy the weekend of Nov. 2, visiting several residents in the area of Baboosic Lake Road, Mitchell Road, Parker Drive and more. And they seem to be continuing regular appearances with additional sightings on Nov. 5, 15 and 18.

With more than 120 bear sightings reported to police and shared with Patch thus far in 2013, we are wondering how much longer it will be till they crawl into their dens to hibernate.

Have you seen a bear around town?

Tell us about it. Email the information to Editor Carolyn Dube at carolyn.dube@patch.com. Tell her where and what day and time you spotted it or them.

Have a photo? Upload it to our boards, which can be found on the front page, or here. (You can even upload directly from your phone with our Patch iPhone app.) Don't forget to tell us in the caption where the photo was taken. Remember: Don't get too close to the bears. Only take a photo if you can do so from a safe distance.

Use the map:

The map above is interactive. The red pins are the most recent sightings. Blue pins are previous sightings this year. Click once on a pin to see where the bear was spotted. Click again to get the details.

PAST UPDATES:

The bears were spotted around some of their regular haunts along Continental Boulevard, as well as several other spots around town. 

Since our last bear map update, there have been 10 reported bear sightings, dispersed in a variety of areas of town. On Tuesday, Melody Currier sent a photo (because it doesn't display properly on this page, it can be seen here) of mama bear and her two growing cubs who are feasting on a bird feeder. 

JULY 31: Since July 16, there have been at least five new bear sightings, including an accident with one in which it was hit by a vehicle traveling on Back River Road near Pheasant Run on July 15.

According to Animal Control Officer Liz Fraser, the bear ran off into the woods after it was hit. A search of the area was conducted and no bear was found, so they hope that means the bear was not critically wounded.

In addition, there were a handful of other spottings to check out, plus all the black pins are interactive reminders of all the other places the bears have been seen in Merrimack.

JULY 16: First of all, good news for those who were worried that one of Merrimack's newest bear cubs hadn't made it. Mama bear was spotted with both cubs in tow on Camp Sargent Road not long after the Fourth of July.

JULY 2: It was a slow week for Merrimack's bears. Perhaps they were hiding out in their dens trying to keep cool (they've got AC there, right?), but more likely we've just hit that time of year where the bears venture out less and less because more natural sources are available.

Even as the sightings begin to get more infrequent, please continue to let us know when you see the bears. We may not update the map every week, but we'll make sure to get them on the map.

JUNE 25: As the summer days heat up, we continue to get frequent sightings of bears around town, begging the question, are they going to make themselves scarce this year? We added six new sightings since last week and continue to look forward to hearing from you about where they'll be seen next.

JUNE 19: It's only the middle of June and with your help, Patch has already plotted 52 bear sightings this season on the Merrimack bear map.

Still frequently wandering the streets of town, we added nine more sightings alone since June 10, to this week's version of the calendar.

JUNE 11: It's been a couple of weeks since we last posted a bear map update. It's the time of year that the bears tend to make themselves a little more scarce as natural food sources become more bountiful. That said, there were still 11 sightings in the 15-day time period since our last update. Most of the sightings were in three days at the beginning of June.

MAY 28: Mama and her cubs were spotted on May 20 on Naticook Road, as captured above by the Castines. The family was also spotted on May 19 on Hutchinson Road and back on Mother's Day as they peered back at the camera.

MAY 21: Lucky number seven. That's how many bear sightings were shared in since our last map update on May 14. The bears have been roaming the Naticook Road area mostly, with a couple other sightings on Colman Path in the northwest part of town and one Nashua resident shared evidence of a bear is his yard not far from Tinker Road.

Also in the last week we received a few new photos, pictured above: a shot from afar of a bear on a farm near the intersection of Tinker and Hampstead roads, a couple shots from motion cams in the woods on Naticook Road and one of a bear strolling by a swingset on Naticook Road.

MAY 6: Another week and at least four more bear sightings to add to our map that already boasts 21 bear sightings during the last two days of March and the month of April.

Last year, between reported sightings in the Merrimack Police logs and sightings shared with Patch, Merrimack's bears were spotted at least 89 times during the course of the season.

As it is still early yet, bears that have just come out of hibernation are in search of easy food. Make sure to take in your bird feeders, seal up your trash cans and Dumpsters, keep meat out of your compost pile and don't leave pet food dishes outside overnight. These are major attractants for hungry bears.

According to NH Fish and Game, bears generally scare easily and can be sent packing by creating loud noises, but bears that have found food, may be more reluctant to run off.

If you missed this video last week, make sure you check out these baby bear cubs wrestling in a backyard on Castleton Court on April 27.

APRIL 29: A mother bear and her cubs hit Castleton Court over the weekend for a bit of play time, according to resident Maureen Mooney. The bears, first spotted Saturday morning, disappeared for a few hours before coming back to "put on quite a show!"

The mother and her cubs were photographed lounging for a bit in the neighborhood off of Camp Sargent Road, and exploring the area (note the mama bear sniffing out a jacuzzi above.)

Our latest update to Patch's 2013 bear map consists of a handful of sightings between April 19 and 23. (Plus the photos and story of the mama and her cubs on Castleton Court.)

APRIL 22: While we creep further along into spring, the bears of Merrimack are continuing to make their way around town. There have been at least six more sightings since last week's map update.

Black bears have become a regular sight around Merrimack. Last year alone there were at least 89 reported sightings that we plotted on our 2012 map. These were a combination of sightings reported in the Merrimack Police log and reports made directly to Merrimack Patch by local residents.

APRIL 15: The 2013 bear map is here.

Well, technically it's been live since the beginning of the month following the first bear sighting reported on Naticook Road on March 30.

Since then, there have been at least four more sightings reported to police.

All of the red pins reflect the newest sightings, while black pins are past sightings.

Make sure you're not attracting bears to your yard. Take these steps to keep your pets and family safe from unwanted bears.

More bear-related stories:

• Don't Be Caught Unaware Crossing Paths With a Bear
• State Warns Beware the Bears
• No Charges for Man Who Shot, Killed Bear in Yard