Capital Region Bear Sightings Are On The Rise
Yesterday there was news of a bear roaming around in the Guilderland area and local police warned it's residents. This morning, another bear was spotted in the Rotterdam area and residents were put on alert. As a precaution, the Schalmont Central School District issued a message on their Facebook page informing those in their district that they are keeping all students inside for the time being.
One comment on the Schalmont Facebook page from Kelly Luongo-Woods shed some potential insight on the Rotterdam bear stating "the (local news) was on the scene and said police were checking (the) area and have not spotted the bear. Someone in the area (mentioned) their trash cans had been knocked over the night before"
According to the New York State Department Of Conservation
- Bears are curious - They spend a great deal of time exploring for food, and this can bring them close to humans.
- Bears are intelligent - Bears learn from experience. If an activity results in food, they will repeat that activity. If an encounter with a human is negative, they learn to avoid humans. Also if an encounter with a human doesn't result in a reward (food), they will not have any reason to have contact with humans.
- Feeding bears creates human-bear conflicts - When bears learn to obtain food from humans, they can become bold and aggressive. Deliberate and intentional feeding of bears is illegal in New York
Anyone with information regarding a bear sighting in either Rotterdam or Guilderland are urged to not confront, engage, or feed the bear and contact the police using a non-emergency number.