News Release: Are you smarter than the average bear?

Tired of having a bear drag your trash around your yard? Or, have you already figured a way to keep them out of the garbage can? The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) wants to see your design idea at this year’s Florida Black Bear Festival in Umatilla, just south of the Ocala National Forest, on March 27, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Black bears are shy, secretive animals but also very intelligent. One of the best options to avoid bear conflicts is to have bear-proof residential garbage cans. At this time, bear-proof cans are not available statewide. Until every county has access to bear-proof cans, the FWC wants to provide residents with cost-effective methods that can keep bears out of existing garbage cans.

That’s where you come in.

The challenge of this contest is to secure a standard 95-gallon-capacity rolling garbage bin. Designs can include attaching materials to the garbage container or creating an enclosure for the can.

Some key features FWC seeks are:

§ Designs must completely prevent bears from accessing garbage.

§ Waste servicers must be able to open the can within five seconds.

§ Total cost can be up to $150. However, the more affordable, the better.

A five-member panel will select up to six finalists during the festival. FWC staff will reconstruct designs from finalists and test the designs on captive black bears in Tallahassee. The top three designers will win $100 gift cards from Lowe’s. The FWC will recognize the three winners on its Web site, MyFWC.com.

For full contest rules and festival information, go to www.umatillachamber.org/BlackBearFest/index.htm.