 With spring in full bloom, many animals are emerging from their hibernation and foraging for food. One such animal, the black bear, will seek out any food it can smell, including garbage and pet food. Every year in the spring, we start putting out information on social media about the fact that bears are coming out of hibernation and that they're going to be really hungry when they come out of the den. We have all kinds of complaints here in the park and in the surrounding communities about bears getting into people's garbage, pet food, outdoor grills are another prime example. If they're not cleaned off properly, they draw bears in and so we start putting out information online about trying to minimize smells, minimize the presence of food around your house or around your campsite. The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources recommends sealing up any container that may smell of food. This includes garbage cans and pet food as well as bird feeders and outdoor grills. One of the things that really concerns us, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, regarding bears accessing food is the risk that they will become habituated to humans. It's called food condition and when that happens, basically the bears can quickly become a nuisance. They can destroy property. They can come uncomfortably close to people and pets and basically just their behavior kind of reaches a level where people can't tolerate it anymore and that bear normally ends up being trapped or euthanized. We are Pikeville Medical Center and we are an amazing place to work. Healthcare heroes of all types work here. All who deserve great rewards. So while our heroes are working hard to take care of our patients and visitors, we are taking care of them with top-tier benefits, higher pay rates and great sign-on bonuses. So join our team today. So what are you waiting for? Apply today. Incredible opportunities await at PMCjobs.org. While sealed containers are the most common and highly recommended way to detour bears from stealing food, there are some alternatives for people to explore. People have also used things like electric fencing where it's safe to do so, especially I've seen a lot of beekeepers, put those around their beehives to keep the bears away from the hive and the honey that it produces. I have seen people create like fencing to keep bears out but generally just trying to minimize the smell will just avoid the problem in the first place. Food conditioning in bears is the fault of humans but organizations like the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Virginia Department of Wildlife seek to educate people so that less bears will need to be trapped or euthanized. One of the things about bear issues is that they're almost 100 percent preventable. Bears, you know, they will forage on natural foods unless they have access to human or pet food. So honestly, limiting access to any kind of human or pet food is the number one most effective thing people can do to keep bears and humans safe. With summer just around the corner, keep in mind to secure all outdoor food containers and properly clean outdoor grills to prevent bears from becoming a nuisance. For Mountain Top News, I'm Kelsey Dean.