Black bears are coming out of hiding, and things around your home could be attracting them right to your yard.
"You're probably more likely to see black bears in the Ouachita Mountains and the Ozarks, of course, too," Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s editor of Arkansas Wildlife, Jeff Williams said.
Some people dream of seeing a black bear from afar just once in their life.
"If you live in a rural area, seeing a black bear might not be that strange. If you live close to a city or a residential section seeing a bear may be a once in a lifetime event," Williams said.
Monday, a black bear cub was a little too close for comfort when it entered a yard in a Benton neighborhood.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) responds to nearly 200 bear nuisance calls a year.
Now is the time their phones start ringing.
"Cubs are being forced out of their mother's range and they go out looking for a range of their own," Williams said.
The AGFC said the majority of their bear nuisance calls come in the spring and about 95 percent of those involve young male bears."
"Bears breed in two-year cycles. In Arkansas, we have black bears and that's why most of our nuisance bear calls come in the springtime," Williams said.
For male bear cubs, spring serves as a wakeup call as their mother's force them to search for their own food and homes.
"Keep your bird feeders clean or empty them in the springtime. Make sure your trash containers are not open. We don't want bears to smell discarded food or anything that might attract them, like a bar-b-q grill for instance," Williams said.
If you happen to see one, stay away.
AGFC biologists can help relocate the bear to a safe location.
"Keep your distance if you do see a black bear. if you feel you need to report it, report it to our regional offices," Williams said.
You can report nuisance bears to your nearest regional office.