Two bears who wandered into a family's Southern California house Thursday likely overstayed their welcome -- at least with the family cat.
The Marks family captured video Thursday of the visitors as they lumbered around inside the house, paying little attention to the homeowner as he rapped on a glass door.
The bears sampled some cat food in pet bowls and relaxed poolside during their stay.
It's not the first time bears have stopped in at the Marks' Monrovia home in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles. In October, they found bears swimming in the pool.
California's black bear population has been on the rise over the last two decades, growing from an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 in the early 1980s to between 25,000 and 30,000 -- and that's a conservative estimate, according to the state department of fish and wildlife.
About half of the state's bear population can be found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and areas to the north and west. Only an estimated 10 percent of the black bear population inhabits central western and southwestern California.
Black bears, recognized by their small, narrow heads and small ears, have coats that range in color from tan or brown to black. Females grow up to about 200 pounds and males can be a hefty 350 pounds with some giants weighing in at more than 600 pounds.
They like to feed on plants, insects, nuts, berries and whatever else they think of as edible -- such as the contents of trash bins. If food is scarce in their natural habitat, bears are likely to forage elsewhere, bringing them into Southern California foothill neighborhoods.
Although its on the state flag, the fearsome grizzly bear no longer can be found in the California wild. The last grizzly bear observed in California was shot in the early 1920s.
