Felicia Ortner, a Connecticut Master Wildlife Conservationist (MWC) and a bear enthusiast, will provide education and facts about bears and help dispel myths and common misunderstandings. Accumulated data supports the black bear is seldom aggressive toward humans. Felicia has been studying about bears for over 30 years. In the mid 1990’s she turned her passion for learning about bears into a passion for teaching about them. She created an education program called The Bear Reality. Since then, Felicia has provided presentations reaching over 8000 people at programs in CT, NY, MA, NH and, VT.

Felicia believes outreach and education is key in having a better understanding about the life and behavior of bears. Hopefully this will lead to a higher tolerance which is instrumental in creating a strategy of coexistence between humans and bears.