Durango’s bears seem eager to attend class – much to the dismay of the local school district.
Since the start of September, three bears have been sighted near different schools in the early morning, prompting “secure” protocols.
That means doors are locked and everyone remains inside due to a threat outside the building, unlike a lockdown, said Karla Sluis, spokeswoman for Durango School District.
“I want to make that really clear, because we’re trying to make sure our families understand the difference between the two every time we send an emergency message,” Sluis said.
On Sept. 9, Fort Lewis Mesa Elementary went into “secure” procedures from 7:19 to 7:57 a.m. after a bear was seen near campus. On Sept. 10, Miller Middle School and Needham Elementary went into “secure” from 9:47 to 10:06 a.m. after a bear was spotted moving through the area.
And on Sept. 12, a bear perched in a tree on Durango High School grounds led to a “secure” lasting from 7:15 a.m. to 12:28 p.m. Wildlife officials tranquilized and relocated the bear.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman John Livingston said officers darted the animal around noon after monitoring it throughout the morning. The tranquilizer took about 10 minutes to take effect, and officials set up crash pads to soften the bear’s fall from the tree.
Livingston estimated the bear weighed 350 pounds – a large, older male. The animal still carried a remnant of a black ear tag from a CPW research project on Durango’s urban bear population in the early 2010s, which was later featured in the documentary “Bears of Durango.”
“It was definitely an older bear that we had actually handled during that research project back in the day,” Livingston said. “Kind of cool to still see one of those bears from the study still in the area, although we never like to see them on a school campus on a school day when there’s that many people around.”
Because of muddy conditions near the Durango High baseball field, officers used a skid loader to move the tranquilized bear instead of hauling it out by hand. CPW relocated the bear far from town that same afternoon, Livingston said.
He said the bears sighted at the other two schools were not caught.
The district has seen an uptick in bear-related security incidents this year, Sluis said. The increase is part of a larger trend across La Plata County.
Human-bear conflicts are up this year, driven by drought conditions that reduced natural food sources and improperly managed trash.
“It‘s an inconvenience for our families and our students trying to go to school,” Sluis said. “But this is part of the beauty and the joy of living where we do. We coexist with these beautiful animals, and we have to respect that there are going to be some encounters we can’t prevent.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
