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After a feeding frenzy from an unwanted visitor, a woman in central Newfoundland is left counting her sole surviving chicken.<\/p>\n
Roni Dyke, who lives in the town of Eastport bordering Terra Nova National Park, has had egg-laying chickens for the last seven years, but this past week that number was reduced to just one bird and eight chicks because of a bear’s nocturnal visits to her chicken coop.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of 17, I’m left with one chicken today and she’s so flipped out, just scared, whatever, she’s not even laying,” she told CBC Radio\u2019s On the Go.<\/p>\n
In total, the unwanted visitor ate approximately 50 chickens between her and her neighbours over just a few days. Initially, she said the bear ate most of her neighbour\u2019s chickens before making his way to her property.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Bear decides he’s coming into the coop,\u201d she said. \u201cHe takes the window out and he crawls in and has a heyday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually she moved her remaining chickens to the separate area where she’s raising chicks.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband set it up like Fort Knox. He had metal bars \u2026 It was nailed down and for two nights, Mr. Bear could not get in at my chickens.\u201d<\/p>\n
A trap was also installed a few feet from her coop but the bear didn\u2019t fall for it, she said. Finally, the animal was trapped at her neighbour\u2019s property and taken away \u2014 only for another bear to turn up on her street, eating garbage. She added another trap has been set up.<\/p>\n
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Dyke says her husband fortified their chicken coop like ‘Fort Knox.’ (Submitted by Roni Dyke)<\/p>\n
On top of losing her chickens, she said the bear damaged the coop but her husband is handy and will be able to fix it up. For now her remaining chicks are now living in her husband\u2019s \u201cman cave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf things don’t improve, I’m going to have to take over the man cave and turn it into a chicken coop,\u201d said Dyke.<\/p>\n
Bear warnings in park<\/p>\n
Terra Nova National Park has issued warnings bears are now active in the area.<\/p>\n
Resource conservation manager Laura Siegwart Collier said hibernation ends in April, and in recent weeks the park has received several bear sightings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt absolutely is typical behaviour at this time of year. They’re very much in search of food,\u201d she told CBC Radio\u2019s Newfoundland Morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re seeing them on roadsides because they’re feeding on roadside plants, so things like dandelions, clovers and grasses.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781967250_134_default.jpg\")
Dyke says the first bear in the area was caught by officials, only for another one to be spotted. (Submitted by Roni Dyke)<\/p>\n
Not speaking to Dyke\u2019s situation, Siegwart Collier said the best way to exist with bears is to prevent encounters, like not getting close to the animals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recommend a minimum distance of 100 metres between you and a black bear, which is quite far,\u201d said Siegwart Collier.<\/p>\n
When it comes to camping, she advised people to secure their food, put away garbage, keep pets on leashes and not leave pet food out.<\/p>\n
Encounters are also dangerous to the bears because they can get more comfortable with human proximity and can lead to what people call \u201cproblem bears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn reality it’s because of some of the actions that we’re taking that kind of contribute to that,” said Siegwart Collier.<\/p>\n
On Friday the province’s department of forestry, agriculture and lands sent out a statement, warning a black bear had been spotted near Eastport and St. Chad’s.<\/p>\n
It said conservation officers are monitoring it while also asking residents to take precautions, like storing garbage properly.<\/p>\n
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