Rural Newfoundland village overrun by bears after dump closed

In Glovertown they're calling it the summer of the bear.

The Newfoundland village of 300 has been overrun with boorish bruins looking for food after the local dump was closed last spring, the National Post reports.

They're like next-door neighbours who've discovered their own fridge is empty, so they're coming over to check out yours.

Local wildlife officers have fielded more than 1oo complaints in the area, 300 kilometres northwest of St. John's that includes Glovertown, Traytown and Clarenville, so far this season and have trapped 15 bears.

"Everybody's nerves are absolutely gone," Carmen Janes, who lives in Traytown, told the Post.

The black bears have been spotted raiding apple trees, nosing into homes and trying to get into a chicken coop.

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The bears used the region's dump as their local buffet for years, said Janes, but started appearing in town soon after it was closed. She and other residents want it reopened.

"They should have been prepared before they closed the landfill," Janes said. "We can't put our pets out. It's crazy. We're like prisoners in our own home. Some of 'em are getting bold. You throw rocks at 'em and they just turn and look at you."

Provincial ecologist Casidhe Dyke puts Newfoundland's bear population at between 6,000 and 10,000, figures that don't include this year's data. He said it's too early to tell if there's been a bear surge around Glovertown.

"There's some anecdotal evidence that shows there might have been a spike in the population, but it's speculative," Dyke told the Post. "Because of [the Glovertown dump closure], bears in that region who were using that site as a supplemental food source may have dispersed out."

Residents shot three bears last week.

Glovertown resident Colin Oram told CBC News that he's been informed he'll be charged for shooting a black bear on his lawn.

"I just go out and say 'boo' just to drive him, and he walked down my steps, sat on my lawn, and looked at me," Oram explained. "My dad always said that if a bear don't go away when you try to shoosh him away, there's something wrong."

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Terry French, minister responsible for wildlife, urged people to call in experts before taking things into their own hands, according to Voice of the Common Man (VOCM) radio.

But French agreed people have to do what's necessary to protect their families, as long as they don't endanger others.

Glovertown Mayor David Saunders said the situation is desperate, with bears roaming his town day and night. He said residents now are afraid to walk outside in daytime.