A Connecticut family found a hibernating bear under their deck. Now Marty is ‘part of the family.’
The Bear #TheBear
For a couple of weeks, the family had suspected they might have an uninvited guest at their Plainville, Conn., home. Their 3-year-old pit bull, Cali, had been on edge, her eyes darting toward the raised deck outside, peering warily at what lurked beneath.
On a cool day at the end of December, Vinny Dashukewich, 19, was playing with Cali in the backyard with his girlfriend, Olivia Unwin, when the dog again became skittish as it approached the deck.
Then Unwin, 19, yelled out. It wasn’t one of the usual wildlife culprits, like a stocky raccoon or foul-smelling skunk. It was a large and groggy black bear who had found his resting spot for the winter in a manmade crawl space.
Moving in for a closer look, they locked eyes with the hulking — and fairly subdued — creature up close.
“We were like, ‘Oh, let’s check it out.’ And that’s when we noticed why she was so scared,” said Tyler Dashukewich, 28, who uploaded a video of the bear on TikTok that has since racked up more than 15 million views. “We didn’t realize the bear was there because he blends in so well and he’s so dark.”
The sleepy bear has since become an extended part of the Dashukewich household — cheekily given the name Marty Bearnard — and achieved social media fame. He has his own TikTok and Instagram accounts, with a profile that reads: “Currently I am hibernating until i’m ready for hot bear summer.” The Dashukewich siblings haven’t ruled out creating merchandise.
“He looked so tired and groggy, like he was sleeping, like half-awake,” Tyler recalled. “And he was staring at us. So I was a little bit nervous. I’m like, ‘Is he going to come out?’ I kept my distance at the beginning, but now I feel like I could get a little closer because — I know it sounds crazy — but he seems friendly.”
After meeting their new neighbor, the family called the state’s Department of Energy and Environment Protection for guidance, Tyler said. Officials said they could either harass the bear to get him to leave, perhaps by blowing an air horn, or could leave him alone until he is done hibernating in a few months. After reviewing pictures, the agency said the bear appears to be a male.
It’s not uncommon to receive reports of bears denning under a porch, although “we don’t get it all the time,” said Dave Wattles, the bear biologist for MassWildlife. When it does happen, the agency’s advice is to “absolutely leave it alone.”
“Black bears aren’t true hibernators” like some other animals, but are “essentially napping” as a way of dealing with the lack of food available to them in the winter, Wattles said. “But if you were to go and disturb them, then that bear can wake up and become 100 percent active and instantly run out.”
With more forested area and strict hunting regulations, the black bear population has grown in Massachusetts and expanded into areas they once called home, such as the Berkshires and Connecticut, which “doesn’t have a hunting season,” Wattles said.
“For the past 25 to 30 years or so, their population [in Connecticut] has now been growing unchecked, so they’re starting to get much higher densities,” Wattles said. “They’ve got a lot of bears interacting with suburban areas.”
Marty remains nestled in his makeshift den that is stocked with piles of leaves and a tarp he appears to have collected, Tyler said. And although the family was shocked to see the animal so close to home, they weren’t particularly scared of the bear, given how often they’ve spotted the ambling creatures around their property over the years.
“We’re used to them doing their own thing and going away, so that’s why it’s crazy that he’s staying there and not moving,” Tyler said. But Marty is “all we talk about in the house now. I feel like he’s really chill.”
While black bears aren’t “inherently aggressive towards people, they are a large and powerful animal,” said Wattles, who stressed the importance of giving them space. “If people are trying to get a view of the bear … it is going to disturb it and it is going to leave, so that can put the animal at a disadvantage for surviving the winter.”
For now, the family plans on continuing to post updates about Marty — as long as he sticks around.
“He is literally a part of the family now, so we will be really sad if he leaves,” Tyler said.