Key Highlights
- unbearable’: California homeowner laments uninvited beastThe 550lb bear living under Ken Johnson’s home for two weeks is unmoved by ‘lure’, with caramel and cherry smellsA hefty 550lb black bear has laid claim to the crawl space under an Altadena home, marking the latest in a series of bear incursions into the Los Angeles community. On 25 November, homeowner Ken Johnson noticed the bear leaving the crawl space and later contacted California’s department of fish and wildlife for assistance removing it from below his home.
- Despite sweet-scented lures and ammonia-towels, the bear has remained in place for more than two weeks.“He’s a nuisance and he’s living under my house rent-free,” Johnson told the Orange County Register.
- “We call him … unbearable, but he’s so cute.
- Once he gets out, we’ll call him bearable, but for now it’s unbearable.”After the Eaton wildfire tore through the Angeles national forest and scorched parts of Altadena in January, wildlife – including several bears – sought shelter in the community.
- In the weeks following the fire, at least two 500-plus-pound black bears sought refuge in homes evacuated during the wildfire. Ken Johnson stands outside his house on 1 December, with trash scattered across the driveway, after a bear took refuge in his crawl space in Altadena, California.
