Keeping bears wild and out of your trash

Living on the edge of the Bighorn National Forest affords residents opportunities to enjoy the scenic outdoors, adventure in wilderness areas and witness breath-taking vistas. But occasionally, the city gets visitors from the forest.  

Often animals will wander into Sheridan and surrounding towns from the Bighorns. Much of the time this goes relatively unnoticed outside of deer or antelope stealing the occasional meal from gardens and lawns.  

But, from time to time, Sheridan gets visitors from the wilderness that have the potential to cause more trouble. Assisted by the Sheridan Police Department, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department immobilized a black bear in Sheridan near 5th Street and Spaulding on Wednesday, June 9, at approximately 11:30 a.m. 

Game and Fish Public Information Specialist Christina Schmidt told listeners of Public Pulse that bears are more common in the area than many would initially believe. 

In October of 2020, A two-year-old male black bear had to be euthanized in Story after reportedly receiving repeated food rewards at residences and business for several weeks.

According to Schimdt, officials have limited options on what to do with bears once they become accustomed to associating humans with food. 

If residents know or feel that bears could roam through their neighborhoods, Schmidt suggests placing BBQ grills into garages or a hard sided building once they have cooled for storage. If you feed animals outdoors, feed only enough for one meal at a time and store pet food indoors. 

For more information on preventing bears from becoming attracted to your property, click here.