Safety Tips For Living With Wildlife
Unsecured garbage containers, pet food and birdfeeders can attract hungry wildlife, including bears and cougars, looking for a meal.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) offers tips to prevent conflicts between bears and humans:
- Never intentionally feed bears or other wild animals.
- Keep garbage cans in a garage or another secure area until collection day.
- Remove pet food from areas accessible to wildlife.
- Thoroughly clean barbecue grills after each use.
- Take down birdfeeders until later in summer.
Two state laws prohibit leaving food or food waste in places where it can attract bears and other wild carnivores. Unintentionally or “negligently” feeding bears can bring a fine of $87, while the fine for intentional feeding can be as much as $1,000.
Bear Encounters
If you encounter a bear, WDFW offers the following advice:
- Don’t run.
- Pick up small children.
- Stand tall, wave your arms above your head and shout.
- Do not approach the animal and be sure to leave it an escape route.
- Try to get upwind of the bear so that it can identify you as a human and leave the area.
Wildlife Resistant Carts
Gold Bar residents can request wildlife- and bear-resistant garbage containers through Waste Management (WM), the primary curbside collection provider for the area.
Removing temptation is the best way to keep bears and other animals away from your home, family, and neighbors. Put your cart out on the morning of service, not the night before, and store it inside so that animals cannot get to it.
Keep Wildlife Wild
The National Parks Service summarizes some of the reasons feeding wildlife is detrimental to the animals and to people:
- There are risks to wildlife. Animals that rely on human foods can stop naturally hunting or foraging and starve.
- There are risks to people. Animals that rely on human foods can become aggressive.
Depending on humans for food is called food conditioning. Food conditioning is dangerous for animals because it can lead to serious consequences like getting sick, starving, or even having to be killed if they become too aggressive. Animals can lose their fear of people when they get used to eating our food.
Let them stick to their natural diet. Feeding wildlife isn’t safe for the animals or for you.
Posted: October 29th, 2026