WINTERBROOK, N.L. - For one Winterbrook woman, Friday, July 13 started out with an unwelcomed visitor.
When she heard a noise outside her home, Lisa Skeffington looked out her living room window to discover a juvenile black bear tearing up a bag of garbage.
Those who have seen the photo Skeffington snapped of the bear and uploaded to Facebook estimate the animal to be one or two years old.
It’s not the first bear Skeffington has seen in the area this summer. A couple of weeks ago, a bear crossed in front of her car on the road leading into Winterbrook, she said.
The Department of Fisheries and Land Resources has placed a trap in the community.
Skeffington, who believes the bear was attracted to her home by the bag of garbage, reminds residents to keep trash inside. That’s what she’ll be doing in future, she said.
If black bears are near your home, cabin or campsite:
- Do not feed them.
- Do not leave food, pet food, bottles, pop cans or food containers outside.
- Store food, garbage, coolers, camp stoves, pots and pans in your shed, cabin or vehicle.
- Harvest fruit from fruit trees when ripe.
- Keep dairy products and meat out of compost piles.
- Clean barbecue grills after use to minimize odour.
- Remove bird feeders from your yard in April and replace them in November.
- Store garbage inside a shed or garage until just before pick-up.
- When camping, dispose of waste water in a pit privy if possible.
Source – NL Fisheries and Land Resources website
http://www.flr.gov.nl.ca/wildlife/all_species/bear.html
