63-year-old Southern California resident Ken Johnson discovered a black bear had taken up residence in the crawl space underneath his house.
According to reports by the Associated Press, on December 2nd, surveillance footage captured the black bear emerging from beneath Johnson’s home. Johnson had installed a camera in the area back in June after noticing damages that seemed to be caused by an animal.
Since its discovery, the black bear has made multiple visits to Johnson’s house, sometimes rummaging through trash bins in search of food. Johnson has also often heard sounds of impact coming from beneath the floor.
Johnson described the bear as being as tall as a dining table, larger than the trash cans outside his home, saying, “I don’t know how to get rid of it.”
Southern California doesn’t get cold enough to induce true hibernation for black bears, but they exhibit a denning behavior, where they rest for extended periods while still venturing out for food occasionally.
Johnson resides in the unincorporated area of Altadena, northeast of Los Angeles County. The area was severely affected by the Eaton Fire in January, which also swept through the Angeles National Forest, forcing many wildlife to leave their habitats.
In January, state government officials relocated a massive 525-pound adult male bear from the crawl space of another residence, sending it back to the Angeles National Forest and fitting it with a tracking collar. In February, another home’s surveillance camera captured a black bear resting by the poolside.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) emphasized on social media that sealing crawl spaces in houses with bear-proof materials before winter in bear-prone foothill areas is crucial to prevent bears from denning and damaging properties.
Johnson has sought help from relevant authorities but has not yet received a response. He stated that if the authorities do not intervene soon, he will take matters into his own hands.
His plan involves purchasing a heap of bread loaves, lining them up from the street to the hole, and preparing sandbags. When the black bear comes out to eat the bread along the street, he intends to throw sandbags to seal the hole and then spray pepper spray. He said, “I hope it (the black bear) won’t come back.”