Bear chased off after wandering into Alaska school

[June 14, 2012]  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Authorities say a bear had to be chased away after wandering into an Anchorage, Alaska, high school.

Police say the small black bear on Wednesday wandered into Bartlett High School -- home of the Golden Bears -- through a door left open for construction workers.

School is out for the summer at Bartlett so no students were in the building at the time. But the Anchorage Daily News reports (http://is.gd/CiDq1n) some staff were there and had to be evacuated.

Police responded and searched the school for the bear. They found clues like knocked-over trash cans that contained food.

Eventually officers began banging on doors to scare the bear. It did the trick, and the animal ran outside, into the nearby woods.

The bear may have felt welcome at Bartlett High. Besides having bears as a mascot, the school has a large bruin painted on the side.

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Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com/

[Associated Press]

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