"Keep Our Bears Out of Trouble"
Updated: 35 minutes ago
Limit outside pumpkin display time, say bear advocates
Bear Smart team members are asking Village residents to limit the time that pumpkins are outside during the lead-up to Halloween.
Left unattended, pumpkins make an easy snack for local bears, says bear advocate Norma Rodgers. "Black bears are in hyperphagia right now, which means they are bulking up for hibernation and desperately seeking calories. Since pumpkins are bear attractants it is important to limit the time they are outside."
Other animals are also drawn to rotting pumpkins, including skunks, coyotes and rodents.
Experts also suggest disposing of old, rotting pumpkins with your weekly compost, as left outside the smell will attract wildlife.
Rodgers suggests families display pumpkins no earlier than 4 p.m., and bring them back indoors by 10 p.m. on October 31.
"Many residents have switched to artificial pumpkins, or choose to display their carved pumpkins through a window," Rodgers adds. "Let's keep our bears out of trouble."
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