Return of the Bear: mission Pears

Take note – story published 2 years ago

Just a few days ago, the bear duo wreaking havoc in Northern Latvia were caught and separated. One of them has been spotted again, Northern Latvian local news outlet Ziemeļlatvija.lv reported October 21.

The Nature Conservation Agency proudly said last Sunday that the plan of relocation of bears involved experts from several countries so that they are effectively split, taken far away, and would not bother the local residents anymore. However, it appears that they did not get all that far, as just a couple of days later one of them has returned, again near the Estonian bordertown Valka. 

Ziemeļlatvija.lv reports that the beast had visited a Mrs Elga Nool. The animal scratched at her door, but when it failed to receive an invitation for tea and honey, it wrecked ten beehives, snacked on pears, and took a nap by the fence. 

"I am scared, he will definitely come again tonight. That is not normal, [they] capture bears and then release them nearby," the lady was quoted. The police had reportedly only promised to assess the damage, and the bear indeed visited the night after. This time it had also slept by the house, perhaps in bid to avoid being caught outside after curfew.

The responsible Nature Conservation Agency (DAP) told Latvian Radio October 22 that the bear had been released on the other side of a nearby river, as brown bears are generally not good swimmers. But the promise of forbidden fruit had been enough for this one to successfully cross the Pedele, "most likely via the nearest bridge".

Thus on Friday night cages and traps would be installed in the garden and the bear would be taken farther away this time. The other bear of the duo has not been spotted so far. DAP urges residents to report sightings of a bear with an ear-tag but strongly advises against going near enough to read the number.

 

Seen a mistake?

Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor

Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor

Related articles

More

Most important