Connecticut Man Watched a Bear Return to His Property 4 Times Before Calling State Officials

Most people spot a bear once and call it a story. Ted Dziekan watched one show up at his Bristol, Connecticut home four times in a single day.

His security cameras on Sixth Street caught it all. Four visits. Same bear. Same property. And the trash cans were completely empty after pickup.

That last detail is what makes this more than just a wildlife moment.

The House and the Pattern

The Dziekan family has owned this property for over 100 years. In all that time, nothing like this had happened before.

The backyard runs along a river that DEEP stocks with fish every year. No food was left out. No obvious reason to return. But the bear came back anyway, three more times.

“Coming back a couple times in one day, I think that’s getting to be a little much,” Dziekan told WFSB. He has since contacted animal control and Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, and is still waiting for a resolution.

Bristol police issued a separate warning that same week about increased bear sightings near Page Park. Same city, same week. Not a coincidence.

What Four Visits Actually Signals

One bear visit is easy to explain. But four visits in one day with no food reward? That points somewhere specific.

Kyle Testerman, a DEEP wildlife biologist, put it plainly. Bears remember where they have had good meals. If a spot keeps paying off with no real risk, they keep coming back. If it stops paying off, they move on.

It is also mating season. DEEP confirmed that June drives increased bear activity across Connecticut neighborhoods, with bears covering more ground and testing boundaries they normally would not.

Four visits in one day is a bear running a mental checklist. It has not learned anything yet. But it is deciding.

Bristol Is Part of a Bigger Shift

Bristol reported more than 300 bear sightings to DEEP in 2025, placing it consistently among the state’s highest. Connecticut overall has already crossed 1,250 bear sighting reports this year, with bears now spotted in every single one of the state’s 169 towns and cities.

Dziekan said it himself: “There’s less and less of their natural habitat, so they’re trying to do their best to find food sources.”

This kind of close encounter keeps showing up in different forms. Earlier this year, a bear spent 5 hours in a tree directly behind a California home and nobody knew how to respond.

And repeat visits are only part of the concern. What happens when a bear settles in under your deck is a whole different level of situation.

For full details on what Dziekan’s cameras captured, WFSB has the original report.

There is a WhatsApp channel that tracks neighborhood wildlife conflicts and home safety stories as they break. Worth following if you want these updates without waiting for the news cycle.

Why This Matters

Over the last six years, bears have entered Connecticut homes 265 times. A decade ago, that number was under 10 per year.

Since April 1 this year alone, ENCON officers have responded to 96 bear nuisance calls statewide, with 20 of those involving bears actually getting inside homes.

Just days before the Bristol story broke, a bear in Winchester was euthanized after breaking into at least three homes. DEEP does not relocate habituated bears. Once a bear connects homes with food and loses its fear of people, euthanasia is the standard outcome.

Unexpected threats to a home rarely look the way people expect. Most homeowners think about locks and alarms. Fewer think about a bear methodically circling the same property four times.

It is a different kind of risk than the dog that saved a New Jersey family from 4 burglars who came in overnight, but the principle is the same. Repeat visits to your property are never just coincidence.

Key Takeaways

• The same bear visited Ted Dziekan’s Sixth Street property 4 times in one day on June 18, 2026
• Trash cans were empty, no food source was identified
• Family has owned the property for over 100 years with no prior bear activity
• Bristol police warned about increased sightings near Page Park the same week
• 96 bear nuisance calls responded to by ENCON since April 1, 20 involving home entries
• Bears have now been spotted in all 169 Connecticut towns and cities
• DEEP does not relocate habituated bears. Euthanasia is the protocol once a bear becomes food-conditioned
• DEEP recommends: close windows and doors fully, bring pet food inside, request bear-proof bins

If a bear kept showing up at your home with no obvious reason and nothing left out, what would you do? Call it in or handle it yourself? Drop your take in the comments.

Wrapping Up

Four visits, empty trash cans, no clear trigger. That is not a random animal passing through. That is a bear learning a route.

Connecticut is dealing with more bears, shrinking habitat, and neighborhoods that were not built with this in mind. This Bristol story is one small picture of a much larger shift.

If this kind of story is your thing, Build Like New covers home safety, wildlife conflicts, and the real changes happening in neighborhoods. Worth bookmarking for more than just the headline.

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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. All details are based on publicly available reports at the time of publication.