MONROVIA, Calif. () — Bear sightings are not unusual in the city of Monrovia.
In fact, several statues around the city honor Samson, a sort of “celebrity bear” who made frequent visits into the neighborhood in the 1990s.
“We’ve had many experiences with bears,” Mark Chou told Eyewitness News. “They’re usually knocking our trashcan over and then leaving,” added Mark Lanza.
But Lanza and Cho said their most recent encounter with a bear was different.
They were home last Wednesday night watching a horror film starring, well, a bear.
“We’re watching the Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey,” said Chou. “There was some clanging noises,” said Lanza.
Lanza and Cho said they had to remove the access panel to their home’s crawl space for construction work. After hearing the noises, they set up a camera and found an unexpectedly large neighbor who managed to squeeze into and out of the relatively small space.
“We knew something was getting under there, but I figured it was, like I said, a smaller raccoon or possum or something, not a 300-pound bear,” Lanza said.
According to the latest available data from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in Monrovia, this year, there have been 53 calls about bears — including sightings — through mid-September.
The department said this year’s numbers are similar to 2023 while both years are higher than 2022.
It also recommends limiting things that attract wildlife, like food and water, securing garbage cans, and sealing up crawl spaces.
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