A large, male black bear was moved to an area with more elbow room after causing some excitement in Connoquenessing Township last week. Submitted photo

In spring, a young bear’s fancy turns to doughnuts, it seems. That was the downfall of a large, male black bear who had been making a nuisance of itself in Connoquenessing Township earlier this month.

According to reports, the 350-pound prowler had been raiding the bird feeder on the property of Cody and Chelsea Riley before moving on to rummaging and scattering their garbage. When paw prints and a neighbor’s sighting confirmed it was a black bear, the Pennsylvania Game Commission was brought in and lured the bear into a trap with doughnuts as bait.

The bear was relocated to the Allegheny National Forest, and the Rileys could quit worrying over a potential threat to their three young children and the family dog.

But the incident illustrates the fact that it’s more than just daffodils popping up now that winter is loosening its grip on the state. Bears are coming out of hibernation as well. And conditions are such that there is a greater chance humans and Ursus americanus are going to bump into each other.

According to the game commission’s 2015 estimate, there are roughly 20,000 black bears calling Pennsylvania woodlands home. In fact, the bear population has been on the increase for decades, and with habitat loss and an increase in development, bears and people are coming into contact more frequently.

As the Rileys found out, black bears will eat human food, garbage, bird feed, pet foods, fruits from trees or gardens and livestock feed. They also raid cornfields and beehives.

The game commission warns, once bears find easily accessible food sources — whether on a farm or in a housing development — they will keep coming back as long as food is available. With every returning trip they slowly lose their fear of people, which can lead to bolder attempts to access food. And as time spent near people increases, so does the risk of being struck by a vehicle or becoming a more-serious nuisance. A persistent bear may damage property, increase the risk of human injury, or become an unwanted visitor in other parts of the neighborhood. All too often, the commission says, fed bears become dead bears.

It ended well for the Connoquenessing Township bear, but residents should nip bear problems in the bud by cleaning garbage cans with hot water and chlorine bleach to eliminate enticing odors. Store trash, bird seed and pet food inside a building, garage or secure shed, and keep their doors closed.

Bears may be our neighbors, but we don’t need them dropping by for a snack.

— EKF