A California Black Bear's Unwelcome Guest: A Month-Long Occupation of an Altadena Home Comes to an End
In a dramatic turn of events, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has confirmed that a bear living under a home in the Los Angeles County community of Altadena for over a month has finally left its temporary residence. The homeowner, Ken Johnson, had been at his wit's end trying to coax the 550-pound animal out of a crawlspace under his house after it took up residence sometime in late November.
The bear, identified as "Yellow 2120" and tagged by CDFW officials, was reported to be causing quite the commotion, with Johnson claiming he could hear the animal clawing and scratching beneath his home, a worrying prospect that might have burst through the floor at any moment. Despite Department biologists' attempts to trap the bear in mid-December, they ended up catching another unintended bear instead.
According to Cort Klopping of CDFW, this particular bear was likely searching for a warm and safe place to den, which is typical behavior during this time of year. However, it's unacceptable for bears to be living in close proximity to humans, as Johnson pointed out, expressing concern over the potential legal implications if drastic measures were taken to remove the animal.
As the situation has now come to an end, CDFW officials have emphasized their commitment to helping with bear-related issues, but will ultimately leave it up to homeowner Ken Johnson to secure the crawlspace properly to prevent such future occurrences.
In a dramatic turn of events, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has confirmed that a bear living under a home in the Los Angeles County community of Altadena for over a month has finally left its temporary residence. The homeowner, Ken Johnson, had been at his wit's end trying to coax the 550-pound animal out of a crawlspace under his house after it took up residence sometime in late November.
The bear, identified as "Yellow 2120" and tagged by CDFW officials, was reported to be causing quite the commotion, with Johnson claiming he could hear the animal clawing and scratching beneath his home, a worrying prospect that might have burst through the floor at any moment. Despite Department biologists' attempts to trap the bear in mid-December, they ended up catching another unintended bear instead.
According to Cort Klopping of CDFW, this particular bear was likely searching for a warm and safe place to den, which is typical behavior during this time of year. However, it's unacceptable for bears to be living in close proximity to humans, as Johnson pointed out, expressing concern over the potential legal implications if drastic measures were taken to remove the animal.
As the situation has now come to an end, CDFW officials have emphasized their commitment to helping with bear-related issues, but will ultimately leave it up to homeowner Ken Johnson to secure the crawlspace properly to prevent such future occurrences.
I wonder what they'd be like in real life tho? Like, would they still be as adorable or would they get all grumpy and stuff?
I mean, i get it bears need a warm place to den but that's just not a safe spot for humans lol.
what kinda stuff would Ken Johnson need to do to keep those pesky bears out? like bear-proofing or something?
sounds like a video game character or something 
omg like what even is going on here? a bear just takes up residence under some dude's house in altadena and he's all like "help me" 
meanwhile cdfw is trying to trap it but they end up catching another one lol. i feel bad for the homeowner though, i mean who wants to hear clawing and scratching at 3am? 
i feel so bad for ken johnson, he's been dealing w/ this crazy situation for months now 
& it's not easy having to hear that bear clawing away at the floor 
i think it's awesome that cdfw stepped in & tried to help though 
maybe next time they can catch that bear before it becomes a permanent roommate 
cdfw should've done more tbh to catch the bear sooner... maybe a few traps or something instead of messing up with another bear 
now let's just hope that crawlspace gets sealed up proper so this doesn't happen again 
! Anyway, back to bears... can you imagine if they could just take a nap anywhere? Like, no permission needed or anything 
...
And poor guy had to listen to all that scratching and clawing... 
It's just not right that they're showing up in people's homes all willy-nilly.
It's all about finding that balance between humans and wildlife. But, seriously, securing that crawlspace properly? That's gotta be a priority for Ken Johnson and his home 
Can't these bears just find a proper den somewhere? I mean, I get it, they're looking for warmth and safety, but come on! Living in someone's crawlspace under their house? That's just not right. And what about Ken Johnson's sanity? He must be living in some kind of nightmare down there. 
It seems like a win-win solution to me!
. How did this animal even get into the crawlspace in the first place? And what about all the scratching and clawing sounds? It's just too convenient that the homeowner was the one dealing with it 
I feel so bad for Ken Johnson 
and the crawlspace thing just sounds so cramped 
thankfully everything worked out and the bear is gone now 
but man, some preparation and planning would've helped so much