A birthday picnic ended in a big surprise for a Connecticut family when a black bear emerged from the woods and made a beeline for their cupcakes.
Rauf and Laura Majidian captured video of the bear as it raided a table of goodies laid out for their two-year-old son Cyrus’s party at their West Hartford home.
The eager ursine scoffed several of the cakes before sauntering off again, ignoring a number of juice boxes and a basket of bread.
“A little scared, I’m a little freaked out, but everyone is safe,” Laura Majidian told local station WTNH News, adding that she and other adults there scooped up “armfuls of children” who were playing outside when the bear appeared and carried them indoors.
Rauf Majidian told HLN’s Weekend Express that the bear brushed off efforts to scare it off.
“Everyone was in the backyard partying,” he said. “[We hear] the first loud noise … we all turned round and there’s the bear.
“All the grownups, we were screaming at the bear. He wasn’t fazed.”
Connecticut’s bear population has increased in recent years, with more than 8,000 sightings reported this year already to the state’s energy and environmental protection agency’s wildlife division.
“The black bear is an intelligent animal with keen senses of smell and hearing,” according to the division. “It can detect the slightest aroma of food, which may lead the bear to campsites and near homes.
“Black bears are generally shy and secretive and usually fearful of humans. However, if they regularly find food near houses and areas of human activity, they can lose their fear of humans.”
But, the agency notes: “Black bears are seldom aggressive toward humans, even when cubs are present.”
Laura Majidian said last weekend’s party was the first time a bear had come to the house, although they were not uncommon in their neighborhood.
“Sometimes we have one in the early morning, like on trash day,” she said. “Two nights after the party I saw the bear when we were going out for a walk.
“We’ll be talking about it for a long time.”
This article by Richard Luscombe was first published by The Guardian on 12 September 2022. Lead Image: Connecticut’s bear population has increased in recent years, with more than 8,000 sightings reported this year. Photograph: SL/Getty Images/iStockphoto.
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