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Two wild bears found in L.A.-area neighborhoods

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It’s a big day for wildlife in southern California -- two bears, in two separate instances, have wandered into L.A.-area residential neighborhoods in just the last few hours.

Around 5 a.m., the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of a wild brown bear wandering around Camarillo. When deputies arrived on the scene, they discovered the bear entering a complex on Flynn Road.

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The residents were advised to stay in their apartments until California Department of Fish and Game officers arrived about three hours later and shot the bear with a tranquilizer dart.

The 300-pound male bear probably came into the residential area from a nearby creek bed in search of food, Capt. Bill Ayub of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department told our colleague Alexandra Zavis. Fish and Game officers planned to release it in a wilderness area in the hills.

Later this morning, police in La Verne were notified when a bear was spotted walking in a residential neighborhood. Fish and Game officers cornered it in nearby Los Encinos Park and tranquilized it. The bear was released in a wilderness area.

Although no one was hurt in either incident, coming in close contact with a wild bear is certainly far from an ideal circumstance. The Department of Fish and Game offers these tips for keeping bears at bay:

  • Store garbage in bear-proof containers, or store garbage in your garage until pickup.
  • Keep food indoors or in airtight and odor-free containers.
  • Put away picnic leftovers; clean BBQ grills.
  • Keep pet food inside, and bird feeders away.
  • Pick up fallen tree fruit as soon as possible, or protect fruit trees with electric fencing.
  • Remove cosmetic fragrances and other attractants, including bird feeders and compost piles.
  • Install or request bear-proof trash containers.

-- Lindsay Barnett

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