CHATSWORTH, LOS ANGELES () — Southern California’s foothill communities are no stranger to bear sightings, but folks in the Chatsworth area were surprised by a bear that was spotted roaming their neighborhood.
The collared and tagged bear was seen Monday night in an industrial area near De Soto Avenue and Lassen Street. Los Angeles police officers responded to the area and watched the bear as it meandered between industrial buildings and parking lots, but they eventually left the animal to keep wandering.
By early Tuesday morning, the bear was seen nestled high up a tree in the same area.
Nearby residents said they heard about the bear through the Citizens app and couldn’t believe how close it wandered into the city. Many flocked to the area in hopes of spotting the bear with their own eyes.
“It jumped a couple fences and then it ran across the street,” said Crystal Amaya of Canoga Park. “I’ve always wanted to see a bear and I never thought I would see it here in my hometown… I don’t like animals being hurt so I just hope it ends up safe.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said it tried to capture the bear Monday, but it didn’t enter the trap.
In a statement, the department said the female bear is between three and five years old. She was captured in late May in Claremont and was released into the Angeles National Forest. Since then, wildlife officials said it traveled along the 210 Freeway all the way to the Malibu area.
The department said it was sending human-wildlife conflict staff to the area to figure out next steps.
“In general, we hope that wildlife finds its way back to suitable habitat on its own. There are times if the path back isn’t obvious (like a greenbelt, or dry river bed) and the animal seems unable to find that path, we might step in, chemically immobilize and return the animal to nearest suitable habitat. We make that decision carefully — as we take both the animals and public safety into consideration,” wildlife officials said in a statement.
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