What would yo do if you looked out your window and saw a bear?
“Panic!” said one Mechanicsburg resident.
“Shock. I don’t think I would move actually, at first,” said another.
“I think I would feel fear,” said another.
Residents of a Mechanicsburg neighborhood were forced to answer that question.
One neighbor snapped a picture of a small bear wandering around his gated backyard.
He declined to speak on camera, but other neighbors are still trying to get their bearings.
“I’m not used to bears.”
This is just one of many recent bear sightings in Central Pennsylvania, and the PA Game Commission has some tips on learning to grin and bear it.
“The main thing is bird feeders and trash. Unfortunately, everybody loves to feed birds right now in spring time and summer. Unfortunately, it’s also when bears are more active,” said Matthew Schnupp with the PA Game Commission.
Schnupp says this time of year especially, it is important to keep garbage cans closed since bears are attracted to the smell.
But if you do spot a bear?
“If you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone. They’re more scared of you than you are of them,” said Schnupp.
If there is a bear in your backyard that is causing an issue, you are encouraged to contact the Game Commission and they will send out a warden.