Bears under California homes go from one-off to trend

Last week, it appeared the the saga of a black bear that had captivated the Los Angeles community of Altadena for months had come to an end: the Bear League, a Lake Tahoe-based non-profit, was able to successfully remove a 550lb black bear that had been living in a crawlspace under Ken Johnson’s home in Altadena since late November.This week, however, reports emerged of bears appearing under other homes.Johnson’s travails started in November, when the giant bear took up residence in his crawlspace. For weeks, California’s department of fish and wildlife (DFW) unsuccessfully sought to trap the bear. Members of the Bear League, a volunteer organization that aims to help humans live in “harmony” with the animals, were able to force the bear out with paintball guns.But on Monday KTLA reported that a resident half a mile Johnson’s home had provided photos of a bear under their house. By Tuesday the outlet reported that a bear, which it had described as the animal that was under Johnson’s home, sought shelter under yet another Altadena home.It’s unclear whether the bear from Johnson’s home, which the DFW has tagged as Yellow 2120, was the bear seen at the other houses.“It’s such a prevalent area for bear activity that this very well could be a different bear, so we can’t say that it’s the same,” Cort Klopping, a DFW information officer, told the Los Angeles Times.The Bear League has provided assistance to residents in Altadena, including installing electrical mats to deter the animal from the area.“We are grateful to have been able to help the bear and the residents and hope we can continue to do so,” the organization said in a statement.The Bear League gets several calls a day from people in the Lake Tahoe region with bears under their homes, the non-profit said. Bears roam the Tahoe area and can frequently be spotted, with some breaking into homes or cars in search of food. Residents and visitors there are urged to keep food locked away and secure trash cans and homes.There are an estimated 49,000 to 71,000 black bears, the only species in California, living in the state, primarily between the north coast and Cascade regions and the Sierra Nevada. The animals are generally non-confrontational, and are known to have killed just one person in the state in recorded history.