By Natalie Jimenez and Karlee Akesson
The bear was first seen on Saturday by residents of Shadow Pines, but was spotted the next morning sleeping in a tree behind the building complex.
When law enforcement and animal control arrived at the scene, firefighters hosed down the male bear with water until he jumped out of the tree onto the ground where they proceeded to tranquilize him.
“I was amazed but scared at the same time,” said Jenny Warren, a resident of Shadow Pines. “I had some fear of it coming down and running into front yards.”
Seeing a bear in a neighborhood isn’t an everyday scenario. As people drove by, they saw many others standing outside looking at the tree. The curiosity caused some to get out of their cars and see what was going on, capturing the moment with smartphone cameras.
“Hearing about a bear in my neighborhood was interesting,” said Grant Warren, also a resident of Shadow Pines. “I didn’t believe it until I drove down and saw people standing outside the house where the bear was in the tree.”
Once the bear was captured, deputies transferred him to a truck. Animal control made sure he was taken care of by giving him eye drops to prevent the sun from drying his eyes out and also putting an object in his mouth so he wouldn’t bite his tongue when he woke up. The bear was relocated to the nearest forest where he would have water and food.
“All I wanted was the bear to be taken down carefully and released safely back into the wild,” said Jenny. ”He must have been scared just being all alone without his family.”
There was another bear sighting the following morning, but it’s unclear if it was the same bear or not. Many are speculating that it is two separate bears that were seen in the Santa Clarita Valley.
“I did hear that it was possible,” said Grant. “It could have been two different bears, since after it was here there was another one spotted close by.”
