Wandering bear in Essex County, New Jersey prompts South Orange and Maplewood school districts to cancel outdoor activities
ESSEX COUNTY, New Jersey (WABC) — Reports of a wandering bear in Essex County led a local school district to cancel all outdoor activities out of an abundance of caution.
The orange of the south & The Maplewood School District said Monday that all schools in the district were canceling outdoor activities.
That included open lunch at Columbia High School and outdoor recess at all other schools.
A school district spokesperson said that since the last police report of a bear sighting was around 10 a.m., all extracurricular activities would take place as scheduled.
The spokesperson said all students and staff would continue inside for the remainder of the school day.
Bear sightings are up in New Jersey by 69.5% compared to this time last year, according to the New Jersey DEP. However, total interactions were reduced by 1.26% and damages and annoyances were reduced by 13.24%.
More than half of those interactions occurred in Sussex County.
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