Worcester family has close encounter with group of black bears in their backyard

WORCESTER, Mass. — A Worcester family became stuck in their home when some uninvited guests appeared in their backyard.

The guests were a mama bear and her two cubs — and they stuck around for a while.

“It was Sunday morning. You know, my son and I were up, we’re cooking breakfast in the kitchen,” said Matt DeJohn. He thought, at first, it was maybe a dog he’d heard outside his home.

The animals were a bit bigger than a dog.

“The mama bear stood up and then slammed the paws on the ground, you know, looking at me through the window. And it just was — it was unreal,” DeJohn said.

The mom and her cubs started around the basketball court, fishing through the family’s garbage cans. Then they went off into the backyard.

“We have a we have a huge oak tree. There is a ton of acorns on the ground now. They were gathering those up,” he said.

That’s when Matt and his son resumed their own breakfast, but not for long.

“My wife was pulling in and she yelled at me, ‘Matt there’s a bear!’” he said. “I looked to my left and again same mama bear, you know, growled, stood up, slammed the paws and, you know, I ran back in the house...It’s just it’s something you don’t expect to see.”

Mama bear was determined to feed her family.

“They hung out all day,” DeJohn said. “They didn’t want me outside, let’s put it that way.”

The bears hung out for about six hours before leaving.

Matt is using his encounter as a warning to everyone.

“It doesn’t matter where you are...You got to look around. You got to notice your surroundings.”

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