School in the town of Bridger in southcentral Montana was cancelled Wednesday as a bear day.
It was the presence of a mother bear and her pair of year-old offspring spotted in the trees at Bridger School, that shut school down for the day.
Bridger School Superintendent Nick Gallagher reported on Facebook that school officialsfollowed the advice of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and canceled school to remove human activity, allowing the bear specialists to set their traps to safely remove the bear family.
It is reported that the bears were spotted getting into the school garbage and wildlife officials remind folks in bear areas to keep garbage in a secure building until the day it is collected or keep it in a certified bear-resistant garbage container.
An FWP spokesperson said there is a current trend to more human bear conflicts and may be related to the unusual winter conditions and reduced availability of typical bear food sources.
Updated 5/21 :
In south central Montana returned to a normal schedule Thursday as a bear family that had occupied a tree for much of Wednesday left the campus.
Bridger School Superintendent Nick Gallagher reported on Facebook that the sow and her pair of one-year-old yearlings decided to leave school property about 8:30pm Wednesday night.
Gallagher reported school officials were making a few changes to the normal school day schedule including moving the planned field day activities inside because of inclement weather.
