Family of bears spotted at New Brunswick nature centre

Picturesque views, the Confederation Bridge and a whole lot of nature are what you expect when visiting the Cape Jourimain Nature Centre in New Brunswick, but this week there are two new things to see: a closed trail and bear sighting signs.

“We got a call over the radio about three little bears on the trail, so we also saw the mother on site so immediately that means that we have to make a plan of action,” said operations manager Hilary Dean.

Maintenance staff spotted the family of four eating berries along the lighthouse trail Wednesday morning.

As a result, the trail and the lighthouse itself have been closed to the public for three days to ensure everyone’s safety.

“Three days gives some time to move on and gives us time to continue to make noise, make ourselves known safely and it also gives us a chance to do other safety measures like cleaning out the garbage bins and locking them up so that it’s less attractive to the bears,” said Dean.

Heather Schwarzkopf has been visiting the site every summer since building a cottage in the area in 1994. She says that bears have never been a part of her visit.

“I was a little surprised. I have seen single bears – I haven’t actually seen them but I’ve heard of them in a friend’s yard – but actually I was quite surprised. You’d think that if there were that many you’d see them more often,” she said. “I haven’t heard about a bear sighting in two years now, so this is kind of different. I think it’s kind of cool except for maybe what’s the reason they’re showing up now and have we done something to their habitat and if so, what are we going to do about it?”

While bear sightings, or more commonly, proof of bear activity, are rare, Dean says they do happen two-to-three times a season.

“It’s certainly not every week,” she said. “It certainly hasn’t impacted us drastically in our operations, but when it does come about, thankfully, we have a plan in place and we know how to proceed.”

Dean says this is actually the second occurrence this season as a different trail was closed earlier this summer.

“We put up signs stating…there’s been bear activity and not to go on the trails. We put up barricades so that it makes it more difficult for people to enter the trails and then we also do things like social media,” she said.

The lighthouse trail and the lighthouse itself are expected to be back open to visitors on Saturday, but only if there are no more bear sightings or bear activity.

Dean says there are other things for people to see during their visit, including an observation tower, summer camps, and a museum component with a canoe made by Indigenous people in Nova Scotia they just received.

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