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LOS ANGELES — A bear meandered through a neighborhood near the Hansen Dam in Pacoima on Monday morning, scaling fences and snooping in backyards before it was tranquilized by wildlife officials and transported back to the Angeles National Forest.
Aerial footage showed the bear in the area of Borden Avenue and Terra Bella Street, surprising neighbors, exciting dogs, and causing a brief lockdown of the Sara Coughlin Elementary School campus.
At one point, the bear was seen eating from dog bowls in the backyard of one home, then continued along its way.
Law enforcement and California Department of Fish and Wildlife representatives monitored the approximately 275-pound bear as it strolled through the neighborhood. Officials say it's between 3 and 4 years old, and is likely the same bear spotted in the Hansen Dam area just a day earlier, climbing trees and resting nearby.
Efforts to get the bear back home were underway after it was struck with a tranquilizer, leaving it motionless on a fence.
The bear was safely lowered from the fence and moved into a trailer for relocation.
"I think they come looking for food, but in a way, people panic, you know?" Pacoima resident Isidro Mendoza said.
Officials said the bear showed no aggressive behavior and was ear-tagged before it returned to its natural habitat.
