Two bear cubs were spotted playing with a children’s swing in a backyard in Colorado Springs.
A video taken June 9 in a Colorado Springs backyard shows a pair of bear cubs playing on a swing as another bear, presumably their mother, stands by.
The furry family was caught on Holly Hannum’s security camera, and she told Storyful that it wasn’t the first time. She said the black bears are more likely to check out her yard at night and she has several videos of them visiting.
The cubs also played on a nearby tree with climbing footholds on it.
Cuteness aside, bears in your backyard can be a serious matter. While black bears do not typically attack people unless they feel threatened or provoked, Colorado Parks and Wildlife offers a number of suggestions on what to do if you have a bear near your home.
What should you do if a bear is in your yard?
If you are literally outside with a bear and your presence causes the bear to look up or change its behavior in any way, you are too close, the agency says.
If a bear notices you but doesn’t leave, wave your arms slowly overhead and talk calmly and keep looking at the bear as you slowly back away until the bear is out of sight. Make sure you aren’t walking through the bear’s escape route.
Once the bear leaves, getting rid of or securing food, garbage, pet food, bird seed or other attractants should be the priority. Most conflicts between people and bears can be linked to a hungry bear smelling something to eat, and a bear that is convinced there is easy-to-access food is likely to keep coming back, regardless of its natural aversion to being around humans.
Steps to take include:
Store garbage cans in a closed shed or garage and only put trash out the day of pick-up in wildlife-resistant containers.
Clean trash and recycling containers regularly with ammonia or bleach.
If you are composting, use an enclosed composting system and do not put meat or fruit scraps on your mulch or compost pile.
Remove all bird feeders from April-November when bears are most active and looking for easy sources of calories.
What can you do to keep a bear from wanting to stay in your yard?
If a bear gets in your yard — or home — they could come back if they believe there is easy-to-access food. Deterrents can help convince a bear to move along next time.
Get Bear Smart, a website managed by People and Carnivores, a nonprofit involved in promoting ways for people and bears to live safely near each other, suggests adding deterrents to your property, depending on the situation:
Electric fences that can harmlessly but uncomfortably shock a bear can be used to protect gardens, chicken coops and other attractants that cannot be moved.
“Unwelcome” mats — either the electrified variety or ones that use sharp items such as nails to make them uncomfortable to step on — can be placed near doors and windows to discourage a bear from visiting again.
Scare devices can use light and sounds to encourage a bear to move on.
Nate Trela covers trending news in Colorado and Utah for the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Watch as bear cubs play with swing in uniquely Colorado video