Bear Killed Goat on Springtown Hill Road, Resident Tells Police

A young goat was reportedly killed by a bear in the 2000 block of Springtown Hill Road Thursday, according to Lower Saucon Township Police.

In a news release issued Friday, police said a resident reported Thursday night that “a bear jumped the fence in his back yard and took one of his young goats.”

In addition to police officers, two Pennsylvania Fish and Game Commission wildlife conservation officers responded to the area to investigate the report, according to the news release.

Although there were no other sightings that night, there have been numerous reports of black bear sightings in eastern Lower Saucon Township in recent weeks.

Many of the sightings have been along or near Apple Street, Wassergass Road, Silver Creek Road and Polk Valley Road.

Authorities continue to advise residents to restrict the bears’ access to food by removing birdfeeders and securing garbage placed outside for collection.

“Bears will not frequent or stay in an area if they cannot get enough to eat,” police said in a news update posted Thursday on the Lower Saucon Township website.

Police have also shared information from the game commission about how to coexist with Pennsylvania’s black bear population.

Bear attacks on livestock are rare, but can happen if the bear sees an opportunity and is especially hungry, according to a game commission official quoted in a 2011 article about a bear attack on goats in Shawnee-on-Delaware, Monroe County.