Bear Spotted Near Bucks Co. High School

Updated: 2:30 p.m. Friday

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Neshaminy High School was holding its picnic outdoors on Friday.

That was until a bear spoiled the event, sending students inside for the picnic instead, said Chris Stanley, the school district's director of communications.

Whether this was the same bear reported in Middletown Township on Thursday or the one making its way through Bucks County is unknown. But a cancellation of the picnic for students might have been...unbearable.

Middletown Township Police reported sightings of a "little bear in town" in the area of Teal Drive and the power lines on Thursday.

Police said that children in Maple Point and Core Creek elementary schools are staying inside for the time being out of an abundance of caution.

"We had a report of a bear near the Maple Point / Core Creek campus yesterday morning," Stanley said. "We kept the kids indoors as a precaution. Unknown if it's the same bear(s). I'm not aware of any similar incidents."

But then police lost track of the bear.

"Looks like the bear took off and we haven't had another sighting in the past hour or so since this began. We will be keeping an eye on the area, and if you do see it or catch it on your camera, let us know as soon as possible," police reported on Thursday.

But a groundskeeper at the Our Lady of Grace cemetery in Langhorne Borough spotted a bear and a cub on Friday morning, and called Middletown Township Police,the Bucks County Courier Times reported.

Police officers searched a wooded area of the cemetery where the bears were seen and placed the cemetery on lockdown, the newspaper reported.

A young black bear has been making his way south through Bucks County this week, lighting up social media along the way.

His journey began more than a week ago, north of Peace Valley Park, according to the Pennsylvania State Game Commission, which has been tracking his progress south through the county. He then appeared in several backyards in Doylestown Borough, where he was pictured in several social media posts.

The bear then showed up along the Newtown Creek, which forms the border between Newtown Township and Newtown Borough before moving into Middletown Township and then Langhorne.

On Friday afternoon, Middletown Township Police chimed in with a bear update:

"Bear with us while we continue to try and track down our newest resident. Resident… singular… as in there is only one bear that has been seen out in the open," police said. "Could there be another one, sure, but we haven’t seen it. We are told it is the same bear as yesterday. How do we know that you ask… Game Wardens said so, and they are the professionals. Also there is lots of Ring camera footage tracking it over night and into the morning. It’s young and covering a lot of ground. If you see it, please call 911. We continue to work with the Game Commission to trap and relocate it. No, we are not trying to kill it. We also don’t want it getting hit by a car or hurting someone so this is the best thing for everyone."

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