Bears are coming out of the woods and wandering through small towns across Quebec.
In St. Donat, residents can't even walk down the street without the risk of running into a bear, as the animals become increasingly bold in their search for food.
Wildlife officer Serge Brouillet has never been so busy, with more than 1,000 bear sightings reported in the region.
"They cross the street, the main street," said Brouillet.
Last year residents only spotted 65 bears.
Sandra Gagnon has filmed several in her backyard this summer.
"We used to see the occasional bear at night, now, they're coming out in the daytime," said Gagnon.
Nicole Larose got the shock of her life two weeks ago when she had her own close encounter.
"I was lying in my lawn chair just beside the house and when i woke up the bear was at 20 feet from me," said Larose.
This month a woman in La Tuque was mauled by a bear, and in Quebec City on Friday, officials caught a bear roaming in someone's backyard.
Bears are starving because of a lousy berry crop, and because they need to put on weight before going into hibernation, they're going after garbage cans, bird feeders and gardens.
So far wildlife officials have caught 18 bears, and euthanized 16 that were becoming too brave.
"Our first priority we have is the security of the people," said Brouillet.
City officials are telling residents to not leave garbage out too long before pick-up.
Anyone who comes across a bear is being warned to not make eye contact, and not to run, but to walk away.
"Bears are afraid of people so if you honk or make noise something else they're gonna go off," said Michel Seguin of the city of St. Donat.
Residents are also keeping their pets inside at night.
