Two Bears Spotted On UM Campus

Remember a few weeks back, when I speculated that Missoula was slowly being taken over by bears? Everyone said I was crazy - "Why Mike," they would say, "it's impossible for bears to coordinate a singular takeover of an entire town, replacing its inhabitants with bears wearing human clothes." To which I would say, "IS IT?"

Because we've been getting a lot of reports of bear sightings around town since then, especially around UM campus. (I even saw one myself while driving to work.) And now, the University of Montana police department has gotten another report of a bear sighting - and this time, there were two of them!

The report mentioned one large bear and one smaller bear, and it sounds like they weren't aggressive - most likely just digging through the trash to search for food. But still, this is starting to feel like a larger number of high-profile bear sightings than we normally see in Missoula... maybe my theory of a city-wide bear takeover isn't so crazy after all?

Ok, maybe it's a little crazy. But the UM police department is asking people to steer clear if you see the bears, and call them at (406) 243-4000 or 911 if you do encounter them. If you're concerned about what to do in the event that you spot a bear, you can always visit the "Be Bear Aware" page from the US Forest Service to learn how you should behave.

Have you spotted any bears around Missoula over the last few months? Does it seem to you as if a sinister plot to take over all of mankind is brewing within these bears' minds?