A provincial wildlife official is urging people in Glovertown and surrounding communities to be patient when it comes to the increasing number of black bears.

Tim Andrews, a manager with the Department of Natural Resources in nearby Gambo, says officers have responded to 300 complaints over the past couple of months.

Glovertown, NLGlovertown

They have removed 30 bears.

Andrews says in many cases the bears have gotten used to eating garbage that people don't have well contained. He says everyone has to be on board to get rid of the bears.

"Some people put their garbage away, but then their neighbour may have some out," Andrews said.

"It's not a quick fix. They have to understand that if these bears have been habituated all summer, that he's going to keep coming back until he gets discouraged, and then he leaves."

That, Andrews says, doesn't happen overnight. "Probably a season or two," he noted.

Andrews says the department doesn't plan to make any changes in how it responds to bear complaints.