A “very polite,” but quite surprising, intruder broke into five Southern California homes on Thursday.
The large animal barged into Laurie Devault’s house on a mission for meat, Devault said.
Police frightened the hungry bear back into the woods with pepper balls and a loud horn after it ate its way through a Sierra Madre neighborhood, WCJB reported.
“It was a very polite bear. It didn’t do any damage,” Devault said, recalling how the bear entered through the screen door before heading right for the freezer.
“It just opened up the freezer and pulled out the chicken. The neighbor filmed the bear running away with it hanging from its mouth,” the homeowner added. “It got scared by the police, dropped the chicken and the police gave me back my frozen chicken.”
In total, the bear made its way into four homes and a garage in search of food over the course of nearly two hours.
City officials told the local outlet that no one was injured in the surprise wildlife encounters.
While bears are not an uncommon sight in the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley, local residents are still concerned.
“I don’t feel threatened by them, but I wish it was different,” Devault said.
“I respect them, but I don’t want them around. They should be more in the wild and not living off our trash cans and what’s in the refrigerator.”
Another recent bear visit shocked a local man on June 4, when a smaller bear was curious enough to waltz through his back door.
A clip recorded by Jason Wightman, obtained by ABC7, shows the moment he stopped washing his dishes to say, “Get out of my house, Mr. Bear!”
Curious bear! A Sierra Madre man was in for a big surprise after a bear walked right through his back door and into his kitchen. 🙃🐻 https://t.co/BeLtfKjb0h pic.twitter.com/iRR6cPRDmm
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 9, 2024
When the bear turned around and exited, Wightman realized it was accompanied by another one peeking out from the bushes.
“Is it just you two? I see you over there,” the man said in the video.
Related: This Fridge Is BEAR! Bear Disappointed After Breaking into Garage Refrigerator
Yoandry Garcia /TMXThe Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is trying to get more assistance from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to tackle the growing bear problem.
“The first is to encourage the state to have human wildlife specialists available, so that when there are sightings, they can come out in real-time,” Supervisor Kathryn Barger told ABC7.
