In recent years, Department of Natural Resources staff have received hundreds of nuisance bear complaints from around the province. As well, potential human injury is great because bears beg for food from doorsteps, or they destroy wood's camps while searching for something to eat. The cause of these complaints is not a mystery. Therefore, it's not surprising to find a bear foraging in a garbage dumpster while streams are full of gaspereau and trees are ripe with apples. A bear's diet changes with the seasons, depending on the availability of food.
Bears are creatures of habit and association.
Once bears discover a camp with garbage around it is a potential source of food, they associate all camps with food, no matter how clean they may be. Similarly, bears that lose their fear of humans because of over familiarity may become potentially dangerous. Control of nuisance bears often depends on the problem. Electric fences and enclosures have been successful protection for bee hives and some agricultural crops. In situations involving humans, there are few options.