Latvian police track escaped brown bear

Police and park rangers in Latvia were on the hunt Thursday after a brown bear escaped from a popular nature reserve into a forest near the capital Riga teeming with mushroom pickers. Dogs and even honey traps were being used to capture Made, a female brown bear who had been living in an enclosure at the Ligatne Nature Park since 1995. She made her getaway through a hole in the fence on Thursday night and her escape went unnoticed until Friday morning, park warden Velga Vitola told the Baltic News Service. "She's probably having a good snooze in the afternoon after eating her fill and will wake up in the evening," Vitola said as the bear hunt continued in the heavily forested area around the park. Mature brown bears can weigh from 300 to 780 kilos (661-1,719 pounds), though Made is among the smaller bears at the park and was not regarded as dangerous, Vitola said. Made's easy-going nature is something of a relief as mushroom and berry picking is a hugely popular activity in forests across Latvia in the late summer. Police have closed some roads in the area and advised both residents and visitors to remain on the lookout. Ligatne is located in the Gauja National Park in central Latvia, some 70 kilometres (43 miles) from the capital, Riga and is home to wildcats, wolves and bison as well as bears, which are its most popular attraction. The pristine Gauja National Park is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts including cyclists, canoeists and hunters.