AccuWeather's Ali Reed discusses increased bear activity this time of year, what's driving bears closer to homes and neighborhoods, and safety measures if one is encountered.

Northeastern United States

Black bear activity is increasing across the Northeastern United States as colder fall weather sets in. Experts explain that bears are foraging for food to build up fat reserves before entering hibernation, sometimes consuming up to 20,000 calories a day. The colder temperatures prompt bears to roam more widely, occasionally leading them into neighborhoods in search of easy meals such as garbage or fallen fruit.

Wildlife officials advise residents to secure trash cans, remove bird feeders, and avoid leaving pet food outside to reduce the risk of bear encounters. The heightened bear activity is expected to continue until mid to late November, when bears typically begin hibernation. Residents are also encouraged to pick up fallen fruit from their yards to further discourage bears from entering residential areas.

Fall weather fuels bear activity across Northeast

as fall settles in bear activity is ramping up across much of the region experts say this time of the year black bears are on the move stocking up on food before heading in the hibernation sounds lovely for the winter doesn't i could go for a hibernation i could do that as well our ally reed is live from lawrenceville new jersey to share what's driving this seasonal surge in bear activity hey ally they're so darn cute they are i don't think i'd want to get super close well and on a morning like today where it's a little cold here in new jersey hibernation also sounds pretty nice right maybe being inside a little warm some hot cocoa that sounds great right now but right now this fall weather that we're dealing with when it does start to get into those colder temperatures that's when these bears are most active that's when they are hunting and searching for their food to stock up before the winter time i chose lawrenceville new jersey this morning because it was just a few months ago it was actually in this town not far from where i'm live this morning where there was a bear spotted roaming throughout a neighborhood so if you are seeing right now potentially in person some bears hopefully not but maybe in person or on social media it is not your imagination okay i want to take this some video to give you an idea of what it may look like if you do happen to see a bear roaming your own neighborhood now wildlife officials i got speaking to them yesterday they say that this seasonal surge right now happens every year as black bears prepare for the colder months ahead they can consume up to 20,000 calories a day during this time scavenging for berries acorns and anything else they can find to pack on fat reserves that will help them survive the winter and as the air turns colder like on a day like today that instinct only intensifies bears begin to roam more sometimes crossing roads climbing fences or getting into garbage cans as they follow the scent of an easy meal experts say weather plays a big role in their behavior the colder it gets the more energy they burn and the sooner they may settle in for hibernation they will be moving around more trying to eat more not only to prepare for that period of torpor and inactivity but also simply because they are a warm-blooded animal if we get a particularly cool fall leading in the winter that bears will tend to go into their their period of inactivity earlier bad weather cold weather can cause bears to go inactive earlier than if you have more mild weather so if the chill sets in early bears could start denning sooner but until then wildlife officials urge residents to be alert and take precautions secure trash cans remove bird feeders and never leave pet food outside that's an important one and if you do encounter a bear experts say do not run instead back away slowly make yourself look bigger and give it plenty of space now experts say this period where we're going to potentially see some more bear activity right now is going to last probably until mid to late november that is the time where again from now until then they're going to be collecting food again berries that's going to be a big one i also heard from wildlife officials if you do have something like an apple tree berries in your backyard if you can pick up as many from the ground as possible it's going to eliminate the possibility of that bear wanting to come in and infiltrate something like your backyard so it's just something to note of course as you are moving throughout the next couple of weeks especially guys if you're in the northeast all right i'm going to keep my eyes out on on on our i usually have to fill bernie in because he's not on our facebook page i didn't know we had a facebook but i usually let him know when the bear's back in our neighborhood but now all we have these important tips yes thank you ally and the footage was amazing we were oohing and aahing yeah except for that big one coming out of the dumpster that was like a horror movie all right we'll let allie get warmed up

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