ASPEN, Colo. — Classes at a Colorado middle school are back to normal on Monday after a hungry bear made an overnight entry, apparently on a mission to raid the school’s cafeteria.
A bear cub wandered into Aspen Middle School on Monday and sniffed its way into the cafeteria, according to a Facebook post from the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office.
“While some kids are tough to get out of bed and going on Monday mornings, that was not the case for this little bear,” the post says.
A photo shows the bear walking along a window sill inside the school after it entered the school sometime early Monday morning.
All students were taken to another building on campus while deputies, the Aspen Police Department and Colorado Parks and Wildlife worked to remove the bear from the school and relocate it to more appropriate habitat.
All students were back in classrooms by 9:30 a.m. Monday, the post says.
“Please remember to secure all doors and windows overnight or when you are not home, as local bears are in the midst of preparing for their upcoming winter hibernation,” the post says.
Colorado black bears are entering hyperphagia, a time when bears spend up to 20 hours a day hunting for 20,000+ daily calories as they preparing to den for the winter.
Tips from CPW on bear-proofing your home:
- Keep garbage in a well-secured location. Only put out garbage on the morning of pickup.
- Clean garbage cans regularly to keep them free of food odors: ammonia is effective.
- Keep garage doors closed. Do not leave pet food or stock feed outside.
- Use a bear-resistant trash can or dumpster.
- Bird feeders are a major source of bear/human conflicts. Attract birds naturally with flowers and water baths. Do not hang bird feeders from April 15 to Nov. 15.
- Don’t allow bears to become comfortable around your house. If you see one, haze it by yelling at it, throwing things at it and making loud noises to scare it off.
- Secure compost piles. Bears are attracted to the scent of rotting food.
- Clean the grill after each use, and clean up thoroughly after cookouts.
- If you have fruit trees, don't allow the fruit to rot on the ground.
- Talk to your neighbors and kids about being Bear Aware.