LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL (AP/352today.com) – It wasn’t an escapee from the Country Bear Jamboree attraction, but a wild black bear managed to be the star of its own show Monday, Sept. 18, at Walt Disney World.

The presence of the black bear in a tree in the Magic Kingdom delayed the opening of three lands Monday morning — Frontierland, Liberty Square and Adventureland.

It’s not clear whether the bear that disrupted Disney was looking for food but this is when bears are more actively searching for food as they start stockpiling for the winter.

Just last week, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) issued a news release saying that this is the time of year that bears are “bulking up.”

The FWC described this as the “annual fall feast-a-thon” where bears are stocking up and preparing for winter. FWC says black bears eat up to 20,000 calories a day in the fall. “Bears start consuming more calories to pack on fat reserves for the winter, even if they are not hibernating as long as they do in colder climates,” said the FWC. “So, they’ll be on the move looking for good eats wherever they can find it.”

The FWC warned the public that while bears need extra calories this time of year, they don’t need handouts and offered these tips to prevent encounters with binge-eating bears:

  • Stash your trash in a sturdy shed or garage and put it out the morning of garbage pickup, not the night before. Or use a bear-resistant container.
  • Feed pets inside, walk dogs on a short leash, and make noise/flick outside lights on and off before bringing pets outside (to give bears and other wildlife near your yard time to leave).
  • Pick up fallen fruit and clean grills after each use.
  • Remove or secure bird and wildlife feeders. Use an electric fence to keep bears away from beehives, livestock and gardens.