A College Park resident thought he heard a burglar, but it turned out to be bears.
The latest bear sighting happened Monday morning on Rio Grande Avenue near Lake Silver Elementary School.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Channel 9 reporter Racquel Asa found out that bears are coming out of hibernation and they are hungry. The resident said he saw a bear and a cub looking for their next meal outside his home.
“Got the camera out and was able to catch that picture of that one bear in the neighbor’s driveway, and then I could hear another knocking over a trash can down the street,” resident Bob Butterfield said.
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Butterfield called police, but it wasn’t the first time College Park has had a bear encounter.
In May 2018, a bear was caught napping in a tree just 2 1/2 miles from Butterfield's home.
Florida Fish and Wildlife said Florida is a week into heightened bear activity. Bears are trying to eat the calories they lost during the colder months, the FWC said.
The FWC said there have a total of nine sightings in the last five years; four have been around the Lake Ivanhoe area while five were in the vicinity between Orange Blossom Trail and Interstate 4.
Monday morning's sighting was a warning for Spencer Fromange and his family, who just moved to Vollege Park two weeks ago.
“I got to call my mom and tell her to not do anything at night,” Fromange said.
FWC said these are ways to make trashcans harder for bears to get into, aside from buying one that is bear resistant:
- Trash cans: Keep trash secured until the morning of trash pickup.
Use commercially manufactured bear-resistant trash cans by contacting your local waste service provider to request one. If the provider will not supply them, verify it will service one and then contact your local home improvement store to special order a can.
- Consider bear-resistant dumpsters rather than multiple individual cans in communities whenever possible. Dumpsters are easier to secure than individual containers and may represent a significant cost-savings to residents.
- Modify your trash can to make it more difficult for bears to access. The modified can must be sturdy enough that it will not collapse when an adult black bear stands on it, and the lid must be rigid and unbending.
- If you have contracted waste service, first verify that your provider is willing to service a modified can. You must ask permission to modify a can provided by a waste provider.
- Secure non-bear-resistant trash cans until the morning of trash pickup in a location inaccessible by bears.
*NOTE: Keeping garbage secure is the No. 1 way to reduce bear activity in your community.
Cox Media Group
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