Bear Sightings in Southern California

Bears digging through trash for food and climbing trees are somewhat common sights in Southern California.

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Cindy Chu
Cindy Chu and her husband spotted bears that appeared to be picking oranges in their Monrovia backyard on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017.
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KNBC-TV
During a day of 90-degree heat and humidity, a bear takes a dip in a Granada Hills pool Tuesday July 17, 2018.
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Janet Eaton
Make sure to hide your house slippers! This bear had a fun time playing in the backyard of a Monrovia home. The bear was seen rolling around in their pond and playing with gold balls in their sand trap on Thursday, June, 28, 2018.
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KNBC-TV
On the run! A bear running from police in the La Crescenta neighborhood was eventually tranquilized after a romp in the trees Thursday, May 31, 2018.
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RMG News
A bear was seen going on a romp Wednesday, May 30, 2018 through Damien High School.
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RMG
A bear can be seen walking right up to the front door of a home after spotting a man open it from the inside. The bear was last seen in the 200 Block of Arbolada, Arcadia, May 10, 2018.
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David Debetta
Three bears were spotted searching for lunch in a Monrovia neighborhood. You can read about their disappointment in just finding empty trashcans here.
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David Debotta
A bear looks rather proud of itself as it scales the wall of a backyard in Monrovia.
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Kevin Shaw
A couple of bears are seen hanging around Norumbega Drive in Monrovia.
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RMG
A pair of bears went fishing around for a midnight snack in Arcadia overnight March 6, 2018.
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RMG
A pair of bears went fishing around for a midnight snack in Arcadia overnight March 6, 2018.
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Cindy Chu
Cindy Chu and her husband spotted bears that appeared to be picking oranges in their Monrovia backyard on Friday, Sept. 15, 2017.
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The Mark Family
A hungry bear snacked on cat food while others took a drink from a pool at a Monrovia home Nov. 9, 2017.
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Austin Miller
"I was sitting down having breakfast and my daughter, who's one and can't talk, kept pointing to something in the backyard," said La Verne resident Austin Miller. The bear ran through his yard, knocked over a trashcan and hopped into a neighbor's yard, Miller said.
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RMG News
Another sighting: This bear was last seen roaming along the 210 Freeway near Duarte early Friday, May 12, 2017.
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RMG
A large bear moseyed into a neighborhood in the San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County before swimming in a pool, snacking on fruit, and facing off with a brave dog Tuesday, May 9, 2017.
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RMG News
A bear found an early morning breakfast in trash can in Monrovia on Friday, May 5, 2017.
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Yvonne Delongchamp
A bear was seen walking through a Rite Aid parking lot in Banning. Officials thin the same bear has broken into residents' yards.
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Isabella Tallant
A NBC4 viewer caught this bear on video as it jumped out of a trash bin in Bradbury on Wednesday, May 3, 2017.
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Vijay Kotrappa
A bear was caught on camera taking a swim in a La Verne pool Monday, May 1, 2017.
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Dane Davidson
NBC4 viewer Dane Davidson sent in photos and video of the bear chilling in a tree early Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at his home off Casa Blanca Street.
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Dane Davidson
NBC4 viewer Dane Davidson sent in photos and video of the bear chilling in a tree early Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at his home off Casa Blanca Street.
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Dane Davidson
NBC4 viewer Dane Davidson sent in photos and video of the bear chilling in a tree early Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at his home off Casa Blanca Street.
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RMG News
This hefty bear was spotted carrying a bag of trash as it lumbered through an Arcadia neighborhood where some trash cans were knocked over.
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Janet Tenney
A bear and her cubs got a little too close for comfort in one SoCal yard and it was all caught on camera Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016.
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KNBC-TV
An adult bear and two cubs went for a swim during a warm afternoon Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, in a backyard pool at a home in the foothills northeast of Pasadena.
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KNBC-TV
A bear took a dip in a La Canada Flintridge swimming pool as police tried to locate it on Wednesday, June 8, 2016.
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RMG
A bear cub scaled walls to escape Wildlife officials in Duarte on Sunday, April 24, 2016.
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Daryl Ching
Two bears cubs square off as their mother waits nearby Tuesday Sept. 1, 2015 in Arcadia.
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Jamina Metcalf
A Southern California homeowner found a California brown bear sleeping in her backyard on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. The bear was released into the Los Padres National Forest later that day.
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California Department of Fish and Wildlife
A small California brown bear was found dozing off in a Ventura backyard on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. The bear was darted and released in the Los Padres National Forest later in the day.
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California Department of Fish and Wildlife
A small California brown bear was released in the Los Padres National Forest after he was found sleeping in a Ventura backyard on Tuesday, April 28, 2015.
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RMG
A mother black bear and her cubs raided trash bins overnight Wednesday April 8, 2015 in the 2200 block of Cielo Place in the foothill community of Arcadia.
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DONLUISMEZA
A black bear with an orange tag on its ear poked its head out of a tree in Palmdale Monday morning, Nov. 24, 2014, before being tranquilized and removed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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A bear was caught on camera in October 2014 in the La Canada Flintridge area.
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Tom See, NBCUniversal
A bear spent about 15 minutes in a backyard pool Sunday Sept. 14, 2014 in Sierra Madre.
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RMG
A black bear was caught on camera early Thursday Oct. 30, 2014 behind a trash bin in Lancaster.
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LLN
A hungry bear, nicknamed Hobo, wandered into the backyard of a San Bernardino County home and was caught on camera removing the lid to a trash can to get access to the contents inside late Tuesday, July 8, 2014.
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A bear ran through several back yards in the San Fernando Valley community of Granada Hills Tuesday Oct. 29, 2013.
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A bear snacks on frosting and other discarded items Friday Oct. 25, 2013 in Monrovia.
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A bear runs next to the eastbound 210 Freeway in Pasadena, Calif. on Oct. 24, 2013. The bruin sniffed around the guardrail then ran back down the hillside.
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NBC4
That same bear scales a fence along the Arroyo wash in Pasadena on Oct. 24, 2013.
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Lions, Tigers and Bears
"Meatball," perhaps Southern California's most famous ursine visitor, refused to stay out of trash cans in San Gabriel Mountain foothill communities in 2012. But he's not the only bear to wander into neighborhoods.
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A bear is seen here in the parking lot of the Mt. Baldy Ice House Canyon Trail on June 22, 2010.
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On Scene Video
This bear lead authorities on a three-hour chase from Glendale to Tujunga on Nov. 11, 2011.
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May 3, 2012: A family of bears is spotted in a tree in Altadena.
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AP
In this photo, a black bear that wandered onto school property during a Bakersfield school graduation is shown before being released in Kern County, Calif., Thursday, May 31, 2012.
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A black bear, seen up a tree in Bradbury, is one of several recent sightings in the San Gabriel Mountain foothills in June 2012.
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This bear was tranquilized after climbing a tree in San Dimas on June 26, 2012.
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Jessica Boyer for KHTS
Authorities tranquilized a black bear that was wandering around a Santa Clarita neighborhood on Monday morning, May 6, 2013.
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A bear stopped by a home in Altadena, calmly chewing through some trash bags. An NBC4 camera was there on May 9, 2013.
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Mark Liu
This bruin was spotted in the 2200 block of Canyon Road in Arcadia on May 17, 2013.
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A bear surprises two horses Wednesday May 22, 2013 in the Shadow Hills area north of Los Angeles.
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This bear was spotted roaming around a Granada Hills golf course Monday, June 3, 2013.
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RMG
A mother bear and one of the her two cubs are caught on camera Tuesday June 4, 2013 in Arcadia.
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A bear was spotted outside a Monrovia home early Monday, Aug. 5, 2013.
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KNBC-TV
A mother bear and two cubs were seen roaming Monrovia Friday Sept. 26, 2014.
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RMG News
A bear checks inside a Monrovia trash bin for food Monday Oct. 6, 2014.
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RMG/KNBC-TV
A bear was spotted at several locations, including a school pool, Thursday May 31, 2018 in La Verne.
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