Bear visits with horses, takes bath in trough

July 13 (UPI) -- A Connecticut man going to check on his spooked horse discovered a black bear that went on to take a bath in the water trough.

Jim Brandt of Woodbridge said he went outside about 10 a.m. Thursday to check on his spooked horse, which he initially assumed had been upset by its usual nemesis, a turkey.

"It's a big horse but it's afraid of turkeys ... and just to see the bear was sort of surprising and shocking," Brandt told WVIT-TV.

Brandt said the bear fled up a tree, where it remained until local police and state Environmental Conservation police came to chase it away from the property.

The homeowner said the bear returned about an hour later and Brandt snapped a photo of the bruin taking a bath in the water trough his horses use.

Police returned to the home and again chased the bear off the property.

"I was worried about him being aggressive, but he didn't appear to be aggressive because he just was lumbering around," Brandt said.

Woodbridge police reported a bear sighting in a resident's back yard in March of this year, but it was unknown whether the bear that visited Brandt's property Thursday was the same animal.