BY KAREN BOSSICK

Students at Alturas Elementary School were ordered to shelter in place on Thursday as a young adult black bear was reported near the Hailey school.

It was one of numerous sightings throughout the Wood River Valley as black bears appear to be visiting homes in hopes of scoring some Haagen-Dazs before they go into hibernation.

Hailey City Police and an Idaho Fish and Game conservation officer monitored the young adult bear outside Alturas Elementary while waiting for wildlife biologists to respond from Jerome, said Terry Thompson, communications officer for Idaho Fish and Game-Magic Valley.

The biologists darted the bear upon arriving and transported it to Galena Summit where they released it.

Meanwhile, those lucky enough to see the bear took videos on their cell phones, showing them to friends at the Trailing of the Sheep fundraising dinner at The Argyros that evening.

“Our understanding is the bear recently wandered into Hailey and found an abundance of apples in the backyard of a home in the Woodside neighborhood” said Brandyn Hurd, senior conservation officer. “Since this bear just appeared in town, we didn’t have any evidence that the bear was food conditioned and because of the circumstances near the school, we determined the bear could be safely darted and immobilize allowing us to transport it north of Ketchum, well away from Wood River Valley communities.”

Thompson said multiple residents have reported bears knocking over garbage carts to access food in numerous neighborhoods between Hailey and Ketchum during the past three weeks. Food-conditioned bears can quickly become a public safety issue for residents and their pets and so residents are advised to secure their garbage in a garage or locked shed.

Garbage carts should not be put out until the morning of pick up. Once food conditioned, bears can start to guard garbage carts, threatening public safety. Keep bird seed and pet food secured and out of reach of bears, as well.

Residents are asked to report bear activity immediately as Fish and Game Staff can proactively haze bears away, reducing the chances of them becoming food conditioned.

Report urban bear sightings to 208-324-4359. Report bears displaying threatening behavior to the Blaine County Sheriff by calling 911.