Photo Courtesy of Michael Johnson
Reflecting on the presence of the black bear yesterday morning, Chinese teacher Ms. Carol Chen-Lin said, “I’ve been here since 1997, so for 19 years, and I’ve never seen this before.”
At around 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning, a black bear was spotted roaming North Main Street. The bear eventually made his way to campus, and Dean of Students Mr. James Stanley announced a shelter-in-place for students and faculty at 8:39 a.m.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) arrived on the scene to tranquilize the bear and bring it back into the wild. According to DEEP workers, the bear was around 350 to 400 pounds. By 12:36 p.m., the workers had successfully sedated the bear, which had sought shelter in a tree for the majority of the morning.
This report comes at a time when black bear sightings in Connecticut are on the rise. DEEP estimates that there are about 600 to 700 bears in the state, and the population continues to grow. Less than a week ago, a black bear was spotted in a residential area of New Haven.
Members of the community were surprised that a bear would appear in Wallingford. Ms. Chen-Lin commented, “I’m a little surprised because North Main Street is a residential area, and I’m surprised that nobody saw the bear and alerted us beforehand.”
Tony Hao ’19 said, “I didn’t know that Choate was so close to the natural habitat of bears that one would actually want to visit the campus.”
The bear meandered down North Main Street, weaving through Mead and Atwater Houses. Michael Johnson ’16, a student who stayed at the site of the bear for the majority of the day, first realized that there was a bear on campus at around eight. Johnson, who lives in Atwater, overheard faculty adviser Mr. Jorge Olmo’s children exclaiming about the bear. Johnson said, “I didn’t believe it at first, but I thought I should still check it out. I’ve been around animals before, since at my old school in the mountains in Pennsylvania, there are a lot of black bears. So actually, one of the reasons why I decided to go and check if the bear was really there was because I miss the sight.” Johnson walked out the side of the dorm and approached the bear, which was at one point only six or seven feet away from him.
The bear then lumbered down the street towards Clinton Knight, a fourth and fifth form boys’ dorm. Ms. Laura Lynn van Mierlo, an adviser living in the dorm, commented, “The initial reaction was total shock. I didn’t actually see it in my yard, but my husband did. When it leaped and broke our fence, my husband screamed at me, ‘Honey, there’s a black bear in our backyard!’” She added, “It was so bizarre. We’ve seen black bears before, but not here in Wallingford.”
Across the street, foreign language teachers Ms. Anne Armour and Ms. Chen-Lin were involved in holding an orientation meeting for summer study abroad students when they realized a black bear was roaming campus.
Photo Courtesy of Ian Morris
Ms. Armour said, “I saw Ms. Meg Blitzer walking her dog on the PMAC side of the pond and I yelled at her to put the dog on the leash and to go into the Arts Center. She was pretty far away from me, and I have no idea if she knew who I was or understood what I was saying, but she put her dog on the leash after I yelled “bear!’” She continued, “I think I was most scared when I saw Blitz’s dog. In truth, I did not find the situation frightening, because it seemed like it was being managed even as I arrived at school.”
Around half an hour later, Dean of Students Mr. James Stanley sent out an email calling for a “shelter in place,” stating that students should stay inside buildings until further notice.
Ms. Chen-Lin commented on the lockdown announcement, “I think at that point, everything was under control already.” She added, “I’m happy that the bear came in bright daylight, and that everyone could see it clearly.” The orientation meeting began as planned, though some students were unable to attend due to the lockdown, and another orientation meeting will be held in the next few weeks.
Students were surprised at the lockdown email. Amy Hagan-Brown ’18, an Archbold resident, said, “When I first read the ‘Stay inside until further notice’ email from Mr. Stanley, I thought that this was a drill because of the alumni on campus.” She continued, “But then I read that there was the black bear on campus. Although I was a little worried at first, I trusted the school and Community Safety to take care of it.”
“I originally thought it was a senior prank,” remarked Victoria Song ’18, a McCook resident. She continued, “I only realized the situation was serious when I saw a group of Community Safety officers hovering in front of my dorm.”
Photo Courtesy of Joe Scanio
Community Safety and Facilities worked to locate the bear, and the lockdown ended around half an hour later, when the bear was cornered in a tree near Atwater Cottage and Clinton Knight. Students were allowed to move through all of campus with the exception of the areas near the bear, such as the Lanphier Center, Paul Mellon Arts Center, and various dorms.
In the meantime, alumni, faculty members, and students gathered around the football field to witness the attempt to sedate the bear. The crowd grew from six to seven students immediately after the lockdown ended to around ninety by the time the bear was successfully coaxed down the tree.
Students commented that people were texting pictures and posting videos of the bear on various forms of social media outlets. Students, faculty, and alumni shared binoculars or used their cameras to zoom in on the bear.
DEEP workers set up a net near the tree to cushion the bear when it fell. A worker stood in a cherry-picker to bat the branches surrounding the bear in order to coax it down the tree. Tranquilizer shots were also used. After two shots were unsuccessfully fired, the bear, spooked by the tranquilizers, eventually jumped onto another tree. Finally, at around 12:30 p.m., the bear fell from the tree into a patch of weeds outside the net. Though he was bruised from the fall, DEEP workers said that he was okay. Workers plan to bring the bear to a more natural habitat.
The commotion successfully brought excitement to the Choate community. Johnson reflected, “The process of getting the bear down the tree was cool, because it allowed me to meet alumni I wouldn’t have otherwise met. All of the alumni events are separate from students, even though we’re all eating in the same place, we don’t really interact with them unless you’re a part of a tour or a demonstration. There were so many interested alumni gathered around the scene and asking questions, and I had the opportunity to talk with a lot of them about other things as well.”
Ms. Chen-Lin concluded, “Both the bear and us are safe, so it’s a happy ending to the event.”
