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Mama bear frees cub trapped on Connecticut family's screened porch

By Ben Hooper
A mother bear and her cubs get into trouble on a Connecticut woman's screened porch. Screenshot: WFSB-TV
A mother bear and her cubs get into trouble on a Connecticut woman's screened porch. Screenshot: WFSB-TV

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CORNWALL, Conn., May 24 (UPI) -- A Connecticut woman said a mama bear forced herself through a screen door to rescue a cub that became trapped on the family's screened porch.

Jenilyn Schweitzer said she started snapping pictures when she noticed the mother bear and two cubs approach the screened porch of her Cornwall home.

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"I thought it was really cute and I started taking pictures," Schweitzer told WFSB-TV. "The mama cub came here and she started to climb up on the door and that's when I realized it wasn't cute anymore."

Schweitzer said the mother bear jumped through the screen door and pushed on the door to get back out, causing one curious cub to be closed inside the porch.

She said the mother bear appeared to panic when she realized her cub was trapped.

"I can't go out and open the door for the cub. So I'm like 'oh my gosh,'" Schweitzer said. "The mama bear started freaking out trying to get him out."

Schweitzer said she called 911, but the mother bear was already executing a rescue plan.

"Somehow the mom jumped up and back through the door and literally turned around and opened the door for the baby cub. Then they ran away," Schweitzer said.

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She said the bears made their getaway before police arrived.

Schweitzer said she doesn't have any garbage outside and she is unsure of what drew the animals to her home. She said the situation made her worried for her family.

"My children aren't ... coming out here anymore," Schweitzer said.

Unwanted porch visitors aren't unheard of for residents of areas inhabited by wildlife -- an alligator seen wandering the streets of Jensen Beach, Fla., was captured by authorities last year when it forced its way into a resident's screened porch.

A mountain lion in Heber, Utah, was captured last week after it decided to nap for a couple of hours on a resident's front porch.

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