Bear spotted wandering near Westminster High; Maryland Department of Natural Resources is monitoring situation

A small black bear was noticed Thursday morning wandering round Westminster, ultimately making its means into Westminster Excessive College’s stadium.

The bear was noticed at about 7:30 a.m., Thursday, on Westminster Excessive property, left the realm, then returned to the highschool at about 8:30 a.m., in accordance with Carey Gaddis, communications officer at Carroll County Public Faculties.

The varsity useful resource officer who’s posted at Westminster Excessive “went out and stored an eye fixed on him,” and contacted animal management, Gaddis mentioned. College students and employees remained contained in the constructing. The SRO noticed the bear run again throughout Maryland Route 97 close to the college and again into the woods, Gaddis mentioned.

Karen Baker, government director of the Humane Society of Carroll County, the county authorities’s animal management arm, mentioned her workplace was alerted to the state of affairs by officers at Westminster Excessive College, and she or he, in flip, alerted the Maryland Division of Pure Assets.

“Our officers went all the way down to see the place the bear was and maintain eyes on it till DNR might get there,” Baker mentioned. ”This time of the 12 months it’s regular that the younger males are transferring, their mothers have kicked them out as a result of it’s breeding season.”

By late morning, the bear appeared to have run into the woods close to the college and Division of Pure Assets is monitoring the state of affairs, Baker mentioned.

”We sometimes see them throughout this time of the 12 months transferring via the realm within the spring and we get a pair stories so it’s nothing uncommon,“ Baker mentioned. ”Normally they don’t hassle anybody – he’s simply discovering his means [finding] a spot the place he can reside.”

The DNR web site advises that in case you spot a bear, again away slowly, go indoors and await the bear to go away. Most bears worry folks and can go away in the event that they see an individual. To report a bear-related emergency, name the DNR at 410-260-8888.

Extra info on residing with black bears may be discovered on the DNR web site at https://dnr.maryland.gov/wildlife/pages/hunt_trap/bblivingwith.aspx.