Black bear spotted behind East Bridgewater middle school during early dismissal

EAST BRIDGEWATER — A black bear was seen wandering behind the Gordon W. Mitchell Middle School in East Bridgewater at the same time students were dismissed for their half-day at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

According the East Bridgewater Police Department, officers kept the bear in their sights the whole time. As there were no safety concerns, the department added that it was best to let the bear be.

There were no injuries reported and both the students and the bear went on with their day in peace.

Despite the scene causing “a little excitement around town,” this summer, black bear sightings have become increasingly more common in residential neighborhoods across southeastern Massachusetts.

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According to MassWildlife's Black Bear and Furbearer Biologist Dave Wattles, there’s at least two, maybe three bears roaming in Southeastern Massachusetts at the moment.

“They’re using very developed places, but we can allow black bears to be there because they’re not inherently aggressive towards people,” said Wattles. “If they posed a public safety threat, we wouldn’t tolerate it. But simply having them there in the community isn’t a threat."

To prevent black bears from wandering near schools, like homeowners, administrators should remove food sources from around school grounds.

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"We recommend residents remove food sources around their homes, like bird feeders, which train the bear to come into your yard to try to find food, increasing the chances of an interaction,” said Wattles.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Black bear at East Bridgewater Middle School during early dismissal