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A bear cub in the Aspen Middle School delayed classes for about 90 minutes while local law enforcement and Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers worked to remove it.
Just before 8 a.m., as classes were set to start at the middle school, the Aspen School District sent a note to families about a bear cub in the middle school cafeteria. Middle-school students were sent to the Aspen High School gymnasium as Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, Aspen Police Department and CPW personnel worked to sedate and remove the bear, according to an ASD spokesperson.
A sow and two cubs entered the middle school through an open door on Sunday, Rachael Gonzales, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northwest region public information officer, told the Aspen Daily News. The sow and one cub left the school Sunday, according to security camera footage, but one female cub remained iand made its way to the cafeteria on Monday morning.
CPW officers sedated the cub and relocated it to an undisclosed location with natural food sources. They determined the cub was healthy enough to survive on its own without the sow.
As bears enter hyperphagia — where they eat and drink nearly nonstop to put on weight before hibernation — CPW is urging people to lock up their trash and homes to make sure bears cannot get in.
“A bear in a school is not good and a bear in a home is also not good, and so especially this time of year when they are in hyperphagia and they are really packing on as many calories and as much fat as they can … it’s even more important for us to take those simple steps by securing our trash, locking our doors on our homes, keeping our windows closed, anything that a bear can get into where they will get a reward, whether that’s trash or food,” Gonzales said.
Classes in the middle school resumed at around 9:30 a.m. Aspen elementary and high school students reported to class as normal, but were not allowed to leave the building until the young bruin was sedated and removed.
No students or staff were harmed, officials said.