St. Stephen residents continue to be on alert after bear sightings earlier in the week.

A mother bear and her cub were spotted in the Milltown area, while a second cub was seen along Milltown Boulevard.

The sightings prompted the Municipal District of St. Stephen to issue a dangerous animal alert on Monday.

During Wednesday’s council meeting, Deputy CAO Sean Morton said the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had been made aware.

“Unfortunately, it’s a sow with last year’s cubs and we wouldn’t be able to trap all three together,” Morton said, reading a letter from a DNR representative.

Morton said the department is advising residents to keep garbage put away and not to fill bird feeders until the bears move on.

“If there’s nothing there for them to eat, then they should move off into the woods and find food,” he said.

If you are heading outside and afraid of encountering the bears, Morton suggested making a bit of noise so they will stay away.

“They’re not aggressive, they’re very skittish. They’re more scared of you than you are of them, as the old saying goes.”