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Seminole County residents receive bear-proof garbage cans

Fall begins Thursday, and wildlife officials said the season change will make bears more active.
Officials are reminding residents to secure their garbage because trash left outside attracts bears.
Seminole County is a bear hot spot.
Residents have received bear-proof trash cans. The goal isn't to keep bears out of the area, because wildlife officials and homeowners know that Seminole County was their home first. The hope is that if residents use the bear-proof cans, the animals will move along and away from people's property.
Kris Thorpe said he wasn't surprised when he took out his garbage and saw a bear on his neighbor's property.
"Every week, same thing," Thorpe said.
Thorpe called Florida Fish and Wildlife so many times that officials decided to help the residents of the Markham Oaks community become what they call "bear wise."
FWC, the Humane Society and other agencies pitched in about $3,000 to provide bear-proof trash cans to the 16 homeowners.
"The more folks that we have with these bear-resistant garbage cans in the community where bears can't access their garbage, the more we're going to keep bears out of our garbage (and) less likely to come inside our communities and hopefully we don't have bear conflicts," said Mike Orlando of FWC. "If a bear wandered over and smelled garbage inside, it would be able to wander over and it wouldn't open up. They could jump on it and it won't open up.”
Even though state and charity partners bought the $180 trash cans, homeowners will pay $5 a month, or $60 a year, for the Waste Pro service.
Residents said the cost is worth it.
"I like bears. I like wildlife, but I have a 3-year-old grandbaby that I want to be able to play outside,” said Thorpe.
Seminole County passed an ordinance requiring residents to keep their garbage protected until the morning of pickup. If residents don't want to buy a bear-proof can, they have to keep trash inside overnight.