`A big one' blocks fisherman's exit; Black bear estimated at 350 pounds.

Byline: Kim Ring

AUBURN - A Leicester man who spent yesterday casting his line into a pond in Auburn is telling a story about the big one that got away - but it's no fish tale.

Barry R. Beauregard said he is the one who escaped and, for a few minutes, he wondered if a black bear was going to make a meal out of him.

Police Chief Andrew J. Sluckis said Mr. Beauregard called 911 from his cellular telephone at about 5 p.m. to report that a large, black bear was blocking his exit from a peninsula at West Street and Hardscrabble Road.

Officers went to the area and saw the bear, which they estimated to weigh between 350 and 400 pounds. As they waited for environmental police, the bear wandered off.

"It was a big one," Mr. Beauregard said, adding that he tried to photograph the bear with his phone but was unsuccessful.

"I told them when I called; I said this isn't a cub, it's a big guy."

As he was fishing, Mr. Beauregard said, he noticed some of the ground was torn up but he spotted a heron and thought maybe the bird was responsible. He walked the shoreline and had caught and released a few bass before he stepped on a stick that made a loud crack and turned to see the bear about 15 feet away. The bear was on all fours "moseying around," Mr. Beauregard said.

"What scared me the most was he was blocking the way out," he said. "I thought if this is a female and there's a cub, I'm done."

But Mr. Beauregard believes the bear is a male and that it has been eating well. Aside from blocking his way out, the bear didn't seem aggressive, he said.

The bear was limping and seemed to have an injured front paw. It left the area when police arrived and Mr. Beauregard scrambled away and went home, where his family laughed as he told them what happened.

While the bear is a memory for Mr. Beauregard, police are concerned that it could be roaming the residential neighborhood. The bear is capable of swimming, police said. If the bear is hurt, its behavior could be more aggressive.

Chief Sluckis is asking residents in the area to be watchful and to call police at [phone] if they see the bear. He warned that bird feeders should be taken down and pet food should not be placed outside. Trash cans should also be secured.