This homeowner's patio may have been cat-proof, but it certainly wasn't bear-proof.
What happened?
A homeowner in South Carolina was shocked to see a black bear helping itself to cat food on their porch. WLOS (@wlos_13) shared the footage of the bear happily chomping away on some kibble. The remnants of a door screen were visible in the background.
While the fuzzy friend on the porch is certainly cute, the black bear's behavior is a sign of a bigger problem: habitat loss.
"These poor babies, they just have nowhere to go cause we're building on all of their homes," a commenter said.
Like most animals, bears are facing significant habitat loss due to "development, logging, mining, and road construction [that] can fragment bear habitat into smaller, disconnected areas that don't offer sufficient space or food," according to the National Park Service.
With less space and less food, hungry bears seek out a reliable source of food: human-populated areas.
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Why is this behavior concerning?
Bears are opportunistic feeders — they eat many different types of food and will snack on what's readily available. Unfortunately, this is often human food waste found at campgrounds and in dumpsters. Bears learn to associate people with access to food, and as the saying goes, "a fed bear is a dead bear."
Bears that are no longer afraid of humans are dangerous and considered a safety risk and oftentimes must be euthanized to prevent harm.
As habitats continue to be destroyed, the potential for human-animal conflict rises, putting both humans and wildlife at risk.
What's being done to prevent these interactions?
To avoid attracting bears to your own backyard, properly dispose of trash in bear-proof bins. Avoid leaving any food — including pet food — outside or unattended.
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Definitely 
Bear-proofing is a short-term solution, and it doesn't address the real problem. Habitat restoration is necessary to reduce the increasing number of wandering, hungry bears.
Thankfully, several conservation groups are working toward ensuring adequate habitat for bears, from grizzly bears in the Northwestern United States to black bears in Florida.
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