Their internal alarms have rung and roughly 14,000 Pennsylvania black bears, having recently ended hibernation, are up, out and looking for breakfast.

Fortunately, people aren't on the menu. But black bears are notoriously big and strong, and human-bear conflicts occasionally occur, particularly when the animals have been habituated to human presence and lose their natural fear of people.

"Now is the time to keep bears from becoming a nuisance later in the summer," said Mark Ternent, a Pennsylvania Game Commission black bear biologist. "Bears that wander near residential areas in search of food are less likely to stay or return if they do not find anything rewarding. Conversely, if bears find food in your back yard they quickly learn to associate residential areas with food and begin to spend more time in those areas. Encounters between humans and bears increase, as does property damage, the risk of human injury and vehicle accidents involving bears."

In early spring, hungry bears frequently find slim pickings until vegetation grows more lush. This time of year they're more likely to wander into back yards.

Once a bear grows accustomed to people and gains "problem bear" status, said Ternent, capturing and relocating it is difficult, costly and often ineffective -- brazen bears often carry their tolerance of humans with them when relocated.

A fed bear often becomes a dead bear.

"The best solution is to prevent bears from finding food at your house in the first place," Ternent said. "Food placed outside for any reason -- whether it is for wildlife, pets or unsecured garbage -- is food available for bears. Homeowners should begin now to remove food sources or make them unavailable to bears."