Mass. district delays college opening after bear sightings

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Sightings in Arlington come on the heels of a bear being caught on video in Newton Sunday.

A husky American black bear was photographed in Coventry, Rhode Island, final month. Photograph Courtesy of Al and Leslie Folco

Public faculties in Arlington have been delayed one hour on Monday on account of bear.

No, that’s not a typo.

After reporting bear sightings Monday morning between 5:50 and 6:57 a.m. within the areas of Scituate Avenue after which Paul Revere Street and Park Avenue, Arlington police adopted up with a tweet at 8:08 a.m. advising of the college delay.

“The College Superintendent delayed faculties 1 hour, officers are within the space of all faculties presently & the ACO is working with the Environmental Police making an attempt to find,” the division tweeted. “Please report any sightings to police dispatch 781-643-1212.”

The sightings come at some point after a black bear was caught on video in a yard close to Chilly Springs Park in Newton. It’s unknown presently whether or not it’s the identical ursine wanderer, however with solely roughly seven miles between Newton and Arlington, it’s attainable the bear made the trek in a single day.

The Arlington incident is the newest in a sequence of bear sightings in Better Boston, together with a number of believed to be the identical bear touring by Franklin, New Bedford, Acushnet, and Fall River, amongst different cities and cities in Jap Mass.

The Massachusetts Division of Wildlife and Fisheries says that whereas the state is among the most densely populated within the nation, the growing black bear inhabitants means an enlargement of territory. Black bears, which used to reside within the Berkshires, are actually extra more likely to crop up within the japanese a part of the state.

To keep away from black bears, MassWidlife suggests eliminating chicken feeders and eradicating trash and different attractants, equivalent to by cleansing outside barbecues and grills after every use. And in the event you occur to return throughout a bear, don’t have interaction.

Materials from earlier Boston.com studies by Heather Alterisio, Eli Curwin, and Melissa Ellin was used on this story.

Originally posted 2023-06-12 13:19:24.