MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — With bears waking up from their winter sleep the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife is urging people to remove their bird feeders.
The warm spring weather and melting snows means bears are waking up hungry.
As part of the effort to avoid conflicts between bears and humans, the state urges people to remove bird feeders by April 1.
Bears like suet and bird seed, especially black oil sunflower seed, which they can smell from a long distance. Other sources of food that bears find appealing are pet food, barbecue grills, garbage, household trash containers, open dumpsters, campsites with accessible food, and food wastes.
Bringing feeders in at night doesn’t work, because bears will still feed on seed that is spilled on the ground.
People are urged to report problem bears on the department’s website.
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