Surveillance camera captures image of bear at home in The Villages

A black bear was captured on video surveillance walking through a yard in The Villages.

A Ring camera caught the bear in the wee hours Friday lumbering through a yard in the Village of Charlotte.

The presence of bears is not necessarily a problem or a threat to your safety. But it is important to remember that bears are wild animals and deserve respect, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

Bears are driven by their need to eat and with a sense of smell that can detect odors over a mile away, problems arise when bears gain access to food sources such as pet foods, garbage, barbecue grills, bird seed or even livestock feed.

Bears are highly intelligent and adaptable, learning quickly to associate people with food. Black bears are normally too shy to risk contact with humans, but their powerful need to find food can overwhelm this fear.

A few tips to help keep bears from visiting your yard:

• Feed pets indoors or bring in dishes after feeding.
• Clean grills and store them in a locked, secure place.
• Remove wildlife feeders or make them bear-resistant.
• Pick ripe fruit from trees and remove fallen fruit from the ground – bears love fruit.
• Screened enclosures ARE NOT SECURE and WILL NOT keep bears out.