Black bear chases man into Fredericton home

A hungry black bear chased a Fredericton man into his home on Friday morning and left with his trash.

Adelbert Rousselle said the bear was "aggressive" and said he found the encounter with the bear "scary."

"I came out of my house, I was going to have my coffee, instead I got chased by a bear," Rousselle said.

"I thought it was a raccoon behind me, I just looked around and there was a big bear there ... I ran in the house and he came right behind me and chased me right through the door."

This is the latest in a string of bear sightings around Fredericton.

A week ago the Department of Natural Resources set up four live bear traps around Fredericton.

The province’s black bear population has jumped to 17,000, up from about 12,000 eight years ago.

A provincial biologist said one reason for the rise in the bear population is because of a drop in hunting.

Thirty-five years ago, New Brunswick sold more than 12,500 bear hunting licences. Last year, it sold barely more than 5,000.