A mother black bear and her cubs have free rein to roam the Mainland Trail at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore on Lake Superior. but humans will have to stay away.

Managers closed the four-mile trail, including the campsite at the end of it, after the mother bear charged a couple hikers in the area where she and her cubs were seen last weekend feeding on a deer carcass.

Park spokeswoman Myra Foster says the bears need some space, and they'll get it with the closure, which started Monday and will continue until further notice.

Bears frequent the area every year, but she says the circumstances this time required a little extra precaution.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)