Massive wandering polar bear visits Labrador and Quebec during spring feeding tour

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This article was published 05/04/2025 (216 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ST. JOHN’S – Walter Bolger had to hit the brakes for an unusual roadblock in southern Labrador this week.

The 62-year-old seal harvester was driving with his wife in West Saint Modeste, N.L., on Thursday when a massive polar bear strolled casually across the road toward a clutch of houses.

The lumbering animal then helped himself to a snack from a garbage can, undeterred by panicked yells from an elderly neighbour. Bolger honked his horn a few times, but that didn’t help either, he said.

“He’s his own boss,” Bolger said in an interview. He estimated the bear would be close to 10 feet tall if it stood up on its hind legs.

It’s spring feeding time for polar bears, and Bolger said the bear touring his community Thursday had likely been feasting on the seals sunning themselves on the sea ice off the southeastern coast of Labrador.

The animal is said to have swum ashore Wednesday, about 35 kilometres away in Red Bay, N.L., Bolger said. On Friday, it was touring Blanc Sablon, in Quebec, near the province’s boundary with Labrador.

The bear took the scenic route to West Saint Modest, along a groomed skidoo trail from the nearby town of Pinware, Bolger said.

Wildlife officials in Newfoundland and Labrador posted a warning to social media on Thursday evening, saying the bear was on the move, heading south from Pinware, along the coast. Residents should keep their pets inside, the notice said.

“The bears are bad for dogs,” Bolger agreed.

Colleen Carey managed to catch a video of the animal as it passed through Capstan Island Thursday, about four kilometres southwest of West Saint Modeste. It shows the bear unbothered as it explores some rocks, squinting at the sun and lifting its black snout to sniff the air.

“The bear was huge,” she said in a Facebook message. “It was exciting to see such a beautiful majestic creature.”

Some people in the community were nervous having such a large, menacing animal wandering about, especially those with pets and small children, she said. But others were just as excited as she was, sharing photos online that had been snapped from a safe distance. Carey said she has seen a polar bear before, but from much farther way. 

“We do see polar bears every couple of years, but usually not so close to the community,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2025.