In just the past few months, a bear attracted attention in College Park, then a bear at Lake Eola, and even one that was carried out of the Magic Kingdom before being safely released in the Ocala National Forest.As the sighting of bears roaming around unusual areas becomes more consistent, Mike Orlando, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission bear biologist, suggested this can be attributed to a single factor.”Bears are basically just looking for food. Primarily, that’s all they’re doing,” Orlando said.The issues in neighborhoods are created when bears climb up a tree or when they forage for food and linger too close. “It only takes one person to leave out their garbage or pet food for them to continue that behavior,” Orlando said.A simple but effective strategy to prevent bears from getting too close is to ensure that food is kept away and garage doors are shut.Having bear-resistant trash cans can also be another way to avoid bears. For people on a budget, FWC has instructions for attaching straps to secure the cans you already have. “When all four of them are on, that’s going to prevent the bear from actually opening up the can,” Orlando said.Orlando explained that cutting down on bird feeders is another way of keeping them away. Even an empty feeder attracts bears because they know what they look like. “When a bear is getting into your bird feeder now you’ve crossed over into not just feeding birds, you’re feeding bears,” Orlando said.Orlando also explained the different approaches a person should take when encountering a bear, depending on the location. “Encounter a bear in your neighborhood, you make yourself really large, maybe speak in a loud voice, then slowly retreat into your house,” Orlando said. “But if you’re out on a hiking trail and there’s no place to retreat, carrying bear spray is a good idea.”He also highlighted you should never run from a bear as it may lead to a chasedown. “You see a bear, and you run in the opposite direction. The bear is saying, ‘that things running, I have to chase it,’ and they may not even know why, but it’s part of their biology,” Orlando said.A fundamental home essential that can restrain bears from lingering around is motion-activated sprinklers.”They just actually don’t like that startle effect, get that blast of water, and then usually they run the opposite direction,” Orlando said.Orlando also suggested that motion-activated alarms and air horns can be effective.”If there’s a bear outside and maybe even getting in your garbage or something, you get an air horn and beep, they don’t really like that,” Orlando said.Unwelcome mats are another way to prevent bears from getting close due to the electric shock sensation they transmit.Hazing is also an approved strategy to reduce human and bear interactions.”Hazing in this fashion is supposed to be a little bit mean. We’re taking an aggressive action to make sure the bear knows people are not nice,” Orlando said.The theory is that hazing is far better than a bear getting far too comfortable getting far too close.”We let the bear get too comfortable, it ends up hurting a person or ends up breaking into a house, the FWC has no choice but to come out and try to catch it, and we’ll have to kill it if it’s a public safety threat,” Orlando said.Another suggestion from Orlando was having a dog with a leash as their barking signals the bear to stay away.”The dog may bark, but it’s not going to engage with the bear, and the bear will understand. I don’t have to defend myself because the dog isn’t approaching,” Orlando said.But the ultimate secret to prevent bears from lingering around is no free meals, along with tactics to keep bears heading back to the forest where it’s less harrowing and hectic.
In just the past few months, a bear attracted attention in College Park, then a bear at Lake Eola, and even one that was carried out of the Magic Kingdom before being safely released in the Ocala National Forest.
As the sighting of bears roaming around unusual areas becomes more consistent, Mike Orlando, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission bear biologist, suggested this can be attributed to a single factor.
“Bears are basically just looking for food. Primarily, that’s all they’re doing,” Orlando said.
The issues in neighborhoods are created when bears climb up a tree or when they forage for food and linger too close.
“It only takes one person to leave out their garbage or pet food for them to continue that behavior,” Orlando said.
A simple but effective strategy to prevent bears from getting too close is to ensure that food is kept away and garage doors are shut.
Having bear-resistant trash cans can also be another way to avoid bears. For people on a budget, FWC has instructions for attaching straps to secure the cans you already have.
“When all four of them are on, that’s going to prevent the bear from actually opening up the can,” Orlando said.
Orlando explained that cutting down on bird feeders is another way of keeping them away. Even an empty feeder attracts bears because they know what they look like.
“When a bear is getting into your bird feeder now you’ve crossed over into not just feeding birds, you’re feeding bears,” Orlando said.
Orlando also explained the different approaches a person should take when encountering a bear, depending on the location.
“Encounter a bear in your neighborhood, you make yourself really large, maybe speak in a loud voice, then slowly retreat into your house,” Orlando said. “But if you’re out on a hiking trail and there’s no place to retreat, carrying bear spray is a good idea.”
He also highlighted you should never run from a bear as it may lead to a chasedown.
“You see a bear, and you run in the opposite direction. The bear is saying, ‘that things running, I have to chase it,’ and they may not even know why, but it’s part of their biology,” Orlando said.
A fundamental home essential that can restrain bears from lingering around is motion-activated sprinklers.
“They just actually don’t like that startle effect, get that blast of water, and then usually they run the opposite direction,” Orlando said.
Orlando also suggested that motion-activated alarms and air horns can be effective.
“If there’s a bear outside and maybe even getting in your garbage or something, you get an air horn and beep, they don’t really like that,” Orlando said.
Unwelcome mats are another way to prevent bears from getting close due to the electric shock sensation they transmit.
Hazing is also an approved strategy to reduce human and bear interactions.
“Hazing in this fashion is supposed to be a little bit mean. We’re taking an aggressive action to make sure the bear knows people are not nice,” Orlando said.
The theory is that hazing is far better than a bear getting far too comfortable getting far too close.
“We let the bear get too comfortable, it ends up hurting a person or ends up breaking into a house, the FWC has no choice but to come out and try to catch it, and we’ll have to kill it if it’s a public safety threat,” Orlando said.
Another suggestion from Orlando was having a dog with a leash as their barking signals the bear to stay away.
“The dog may bark, but it’s not going to engage with the bear, and the bear will understand. I don’t have to defend myself because the dog isn’t approaching,” Orlando said.
But the ultimate secret to prevent bears from lingering around is no free meals, along with tactics to keep bears heading back to the forest where it’s less harrowing and hectic.
