08/27/2026
⚠️GRANBY YOU ARE CREATING A DANGEROUS HUMAN HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARD - AND IT IS ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE. ⚠️
🐻 Do your part today. Secure your bins. Lock your doors.
Every time a resident leaves a trash can unsecured or a car door unlocked, they are inviting a bear into our neighborhoods.
Bears are highly opportunistic foragers driven by an incredible sense of smell. They will readily move through our neighborhoods and downtown corridors looking for an easy meal. Once a bear learns that tipping over your trash bin or sliding into an unlocked vehicle results in food, it becomes habituated. It loses its natural fear of humans, repeats these destructive behaviors, and eventually begins breaking into homes. This creates an immediate, severe threat to human health and safety putting children, pets, and neighbors at risk.
Why can’t you just relocate the bear to the wilderness?
Many of us operate under a false sense of security, assuming that if a bear becomes a problem, wildlife officials can simply relocate it. Relocation is rarely a successful solution.
Finding a suitable new home for a bear is incredibly complex. It requires a remote area with adequate food, shelter, and water-and a low risk of further human conflict. It can put bears, particularly cubs, in danger if they are put into an area with a territorial male. Even if wildlife officers are able to find a location that meets these needs, their incredible homing instincts mean there is absolutely no guarantee they won't march straight back to the exact same neighborhood.
We must and can do better. Keeping our community safe requires a community-wide commitment.
👉By taking these simple steps, we protect our community and give these incredible animals a real chance to stay wild. 🏔️
1. Never feed or approach bears: Intentionally feeding wildlife or letting them find accessible food is illegal. It teaches them to approach homes and lose their natural fear.
2. Safely store trash and attractants: Lock up trash receptacles and food scraps to eliminate the powerful odors that draw wildlife to residential properties.
3. Protect agriculture with electric fencing: Enclose chicken coops, apiaries, and fruit orchards. Electric fences keep bears out safely; a brief zap hurts but will not cause permanent harm.
4. Remove bird feeders entirely: Grains and birdseed are highly attractive, calorie-dense foods that draw active bears directly onto residential decks and porches.
5. Never leave pet food outdoors: Feed domestic pets indoors or thoroughly clean up bowls immediately after any outdoor feeding.
6. Clean and store outdoor grills: Burn off grease and food particles after every use, and store grills inside a secure garage or shed.
7. Secure windows and doors: Keep all bear-accessible windows and doors closed and locked, including garage and top-story exterior doors.
The survival of these animals and the safety of our community depend entirely on our actions and these bears are running out of non-lethal options. We appreciate the wildlife that makes living in the mountains so special. Do your part today to help keep bears wild! 🐻
