Reports of an injured bear in Lansford have been coming into the Carbon County Environmental Education Center all summer.

According to a release by the CCEEC, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is familiar with the bear and their opinion is that if it is mobile and hasn't posed a threat, they will take no action.Franklin Klock, a naturalist at the center, said that by trying to help the bear some people are actually making it worse."By feeding the bear it makes us feel better but it makes the bear less fearful of humans and reduces its drive to wander to find normal food," Klock said.Pennsylvania Game Commission conservation officer Cory Bentzoni echoed Klock's comments."The bear appears to be healthy except for the leg injury and is getting around fine," Bentzoni said. "By feeding the bear people actually make it stay in the area instead of going off into the woods to feed off mother nature,"Klock fears that if this bear causes property damage, or otherwise becomes a nuisance, the game commission may have no choice to trap and euthanize it.The Pennsylvania Game Commission will do everything in its power to save the bear including trapping and relocating it, but sometimes that isn't an option."Unfortunately, sometimes putting down the animal is necessary for its own good. But our primary goal is to help the animal any way we can," Bentzoni said recently."Bears will begin to be more active as they feed heavily to fatten up for winter," Klock said. "Also black bear in Pennsylvania don't always fully hibernate, so it's not uncommon to see them out of their dens in the winter months."