A black bear cub named Andy sits on one of the logs in an enclosure at Ben Kilham's bear rehabilitation center in Lyme on Thursday, July 10, 2014. Andy, who's namesake is Andrew Timmins, a wildlife biologist with the state's Fish and Game department, was found in Dalton. Kilham receives bears from all over New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. He's seen a higher number of bear cubs in recent years due to bear/human conflict.
A black bear cub named Andy sits on one of the logs in an enclosure at Ben Kilham's bear rehabilitation center in Lyme on Thursday, July 10, 2014. Andy, who's namesake is Andrew Timmins, a wildlife biologist with the state's Fish and Game department, was found in Dalton. Kilham receives bears from all over New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts. He's seen a higher number of bear cubs in recent years due to bear/human conflict. Credit: Andrea Morales

A Massachusetts resident has been charged with illegally killing a mother bear in their backyard with a bow and arrow after hunting season had ended.

Massachusetts Environmental Police said in a Facebook post Wednesday that the killing happened in late 2021 in Ashburnham.

The agency said a person had reported to state officials that the bear was killed on the Monday after bear season ended but they had not realized the season had ended.

Responding officers observed a yearling bear cub standing in the truck bed with the deceased bear and a second yearling cub was found nearby.

The agency later determined the person tried to have the bear illegally processed in nearby New Hampshire but the butcher determined the bear had been killed off season, refused to process it and contacted New Hampshire Fish and Game.

Police said the person ultimately admitted to shooting the mother bear with a bow and arrow as she was eating birdseed in the backyard of their home.

The agency charged the person, who it did not name, with multiple criminal charges, including the illegal taking of a black bear; hunting when the season is closed; falsifying harvest report data; exporting an illegally taken bear out of state and other crimes.

Police said the bow was seized and the bear was donated to a local rod and gun club.