WALLINGFORD, Conn. (AP) Alumni of a prestigious boarding school in Connecticut formed a crowd to watch a state Department of Environmental Protection officer remove a furry party crasher from their reunion over the weekend.

Dr. Alex Curtis, headmaster of Choate Rosemary Hall, says a 325-pound black bear was spotted on the prep school's Wallingford campus around 8:30 a.m. Saturday.

The bear rummaged around in trash cans before eventually climbing roughly 60 feet up a tree. Wallingford officers responded and helped control the crowd of spectators that had gathered.

A DEEP conservation officer used the school's cherry-picker to get close to the bear before tranquilizing it. Curtis says the animal was uninjured by his fall.

Lt. Cheryl Bradley says the bear was removed by 12:36 p.m. and was taken to a remote location.