The Bears are awake!!
- Take down the bird feeder.
- Do not feed your pets outdoors and do not leave bowls of food for them to graze.
- Do not leave or spread food for other critters outdoors.
- Clean your grill and surrounding areas of grease and fat drippings.
- Do not leave garbage out except, when you must, shortly before the pickup, and use bear proof containers if you can. (You can place ammonia-soaked rags in the garbage to cut down on the attractive food odor likely to draw bears.)
In the event of an encounter, disengage as best you can. The Town of Ramapo Police Department advises that it will not react unless 1) a bear is cornered in a tree, or 2) a bear is trapped and is a potential concern for harmful human contact. When in doubt, call the Town of Ramapo Police at (845) 357-2400 or the Department of Environmental Conservation at (518) 402-9149. The DEC indicates that most situations will resolve themselves, but to keep in mind that if intervention is needed the nearest DEC office is in New Paltz.
a special thank you to Peter Warren for the fantastic videos!
