Family Discovers Hibernating Bear Beneath Deck, Plans To Leave It There

A family in Connecticut had a surprise waiting for them under a deck at their home when their son’s dog discovered a bear hibernating on their property. 

On December 30, the bear was found when Vinny Dashukewich’s pit bull, Cali, started growling close to an elevated deck outside of the home. Olivia Unwin, his girlfriend, was there and insisted that she had seen the bear. Dashukewich spotted the bear beneath the deck. It was heavy and tired. The bear was laying on a tarpaulin, and a leaf pile.

 “He was totally unfazed by everything,” Dashukewich . “As soon as we saw each other he didn’t move, he didn’t react. He’s definitely super comfortable.”

Dashukewich posted a TikTok video that became viral, with over 15,000,000 views. Marty Bearnard was named by the family. Marty also has an Instagram account. 

“He hasn’t bothered us at all,” Tyler Dashukewich, Vinny’s sister, told The New York Times. “So we feel like there’s no reason to move him.”

“I turned my head and saw the bear, and we were staring right at each other. It’s pretty crazy,” One of the residents lives in the house. According to CBS, the name of the person is not known. “He’s massive, but he’s super chill. He hasn’t really done much so far.”

The children in the Dashukewich family said they’ve seen lots of bears close to the area for years but this was the closest encounter, according to The Times. They said they have been peacefully living close to the bear so far. Tyler Dashukewich explained that the family contacted Connecticut Department of Energy & Environment Protection after they found the animal. 

“They said to just leave him alone, let him be, as long as he’s not creating a disturbance or, you know, bothering anybody,” Vinny Dashukewich .

It looked like a black bear, according to the group. Tyler Dashukewich explained to the family that they had two options: either try to get Marty away or let him relax in that area until he finishes his hibernation. 

“We get 10-20 reports of bears denning under porches every year, and we have never had a negative incident that occurred as a result of this,” Jason Hawley is a wildlife biologist for the department and spoke to the Times via email. He said that the group recommends that people allow bears to stay there until they leave. This usually happens around April.