Bear cub brushed up against officer's leg: RCMP

A police officerhad a surprisingface-to-face encounter with a bear cub in central Newfoundland last week.

"She was not aware of it until she felt him brush up against her leg," according toan RCMP news release Wednesday.

Const. Suzanne Bourque was patrolling the Terra Nova National Park, almost 200 kilometres west of St. John's, when she was advised that there was a bear cub at one of thepark's rest stops.

Bourque investigated and she found the creature. TheRCMPsaid the cub walked towardsBourque while she wastalking towitnesses who said peoplewere feeding the cub, which appeared to have been separated from its mother.

While no one was injured,police are warning people not to approach cubs because a dangerous, protective female bear may be nearby.

Wildlife officials also say that feeding a bear puts the animal at risk.

Bearsthat are fed by humans sometimes become a nuisanceonce they becomecomfortable with people and some of those bears areeventually killed by wildlife officials or by police.

Police said the cub that Bourque encountered was captured and released in a more remote part of Terra Nova park, away from people.