200-Pound Bear Roams Pasadena Streets

A 200-pound bear wandered the streets of a Pasadena neighborhood Saturday before it was shot with a tranquilizer dart out of a pine tree.

It was the second bear sighting in a week in Pasadena.

Pasadena police responded to assist the Department of Fish and Wildlife after a bear was spotted in the 1000 block of North Michigan Boulevard at 9 a.m.

Residents said it was roaming around "nonchalantly" and "hanging out on a nice day."

A sheriff's helicopter tracked it from above while animal control, Pasadena fire officials and police joined in the relocation effort on the ground.

After hours of wandering yards, the female bear ended up in a big pine tree on Chester Street.

A Pasadena homeowner said the bear wandered from her neighbor's yard into her backyard and she thinks she may have scared it up the tree.

Two wildlife officers armed with tranquilizers fired at the bear, but the first dart didn't take.

The bear, about 2-3 years old, eventually fell out of the tree, landing in bushes and a pile of mulch.

The bear suffered no broken bones, but did have some scratches on her face.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife tagged the bear and released her deep into the Angeles National Forest.

Nine-year old Hannah Cahalan and her friend Chloe Sarault were walking to the park when they heard Pasadena police making an announcement along the street.

"We heard loud speaker come on saying, 'there's a bear in this neighborhood. Get inside your houses. If you see the bear, call 911,'" Cahalan said. "I'm happy it's going back to forest."

Another much larger bear was spotted roaming Pasadena on Monday in the Hastings Ranch area. It crossed busy Sierra Madre Boulevard, and was caught on residents' cellphone videos.

It wasn't captured, and was believed to have retreated back to a wooded area.

Officials reminded residents that if a bear is ever spotted in a residential neighborhood to never feed it or chase it, and the best thing to do is stay out of its way.