A huge black bear that made its den in the for more than a month has finally been evicted.
Altadena resident Ken Johnson said the animal began denning beneath his home around Thanksgiving, twisting gas lines and toppling bricks as he came and went. Surveillance video showed the bear easily tearing away screening and other obstacles and squeezing through a small opening.
Johnson said in a phone interview Friday that he first asked state wildlife officials for help, but the air horns and paintball guns they deployed didn’t work. So he turned to BEAR League, a California-based nonprofit that bills itself as specializing in 鈥渓iving in harmony with bears.鈥�
The bear was out within about 20 minutes after members from the group arrived, Johnson said.
In a social media post on Thursday, the group said that one of its most experienced responders crawled beneath the home and got behind the bear 鈥� which it estimated weighs more than 500 pounds (227 kilograms) 鈥� to encourage the animal to leave.
鈥淭here鈥檚 the relief 鈥� it feels like, you know, you had a bunch of dinner guests over and now the party鈥檚 over 鈥� well it wasn鈥檛 a party 鈥� but you know they鈥檙e gone and now you鈥檝e got a bunch of dirty dishes and empty glasses to deal with,” Johnson said.
The group placed an 鈥渦nwelcome鈥� mat, which delivers an electric shock, at the opening. Video footage showed the bear returning to the house, stepping on the mat and then running away.
Dave Fleishman, a BEAR League spokesperson who helped evict the animal, said it was one of the largest black bears he has seen.
鈥淗e’s in my top three,鈥� Fleishman said.
鈥淗e鈥檚 an old soul … I think he just wanted a quiet place for the winter,鈥� he added. 鈥淏ut he鈥檇 done a tremendous amount of damage to Ken鈥檚 house. And so, you don鈥檛 want Ken鈥檚 house to burn down or the rest of Altadena to burn down because of a ruptured gas line.鈥�
Fleishman said the team was able to move the bear quickly because the house has two crawl spaces, making access easier. He called it a 鈥渟tandard eviction” the group regularly handles, particularly in the Lake Tahoe area.
Johnson described having the bear around as 鈥渦nsettling.鈥� Since the eviction, the bear came back at least once before moving on, he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just the constant tension of if he if he decides to come out I have to be ready,鈥� he said.
Johnson said the animal caused thousands of dollars in damage, which has been particularly tough to deal with because he lost his job after last year’s . The bear shredded ductwork under the house and twisted natural gas piping, Johnson said. He’s set up a GoFundMe page seeking to repair the damage and make his house livable again.
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