Angelenos aren’t the only ones trying to escape the rising temperatures this summer! š»
It’s a hot afternoon in July and you want to spend some time outdoors – what do you do? For most of us, jumping into the pool comes to mind but apparently, the same thought comes to wildlife too!
Yesterday afternoon the temperature reached up to 85 degrees in Granada Hills, leaving a panting black bear to roam outside of his natural habitat and into a residential neighborhood. LAPD units, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and hovering news helicopters followed the curious bear for roughly an hour.
UN-BEAR-ABLE HEAT: #Bear takes a dip to escape the summer heat in a Granada Hills, California swimming #pool – watch live on https://t.co/MeN3sSP78n pic.twitter.com/pFjUtD8BCF
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) July 17, 2018
The bear was spotted around noon, sitting in a shaded area in the front of someones home. After receiving a call responding police officers blocked the street that the house was on, but of course, did not approach the animal. The bear must have got bored watching humans take safety precautions and wandered into the backyard of the home in the 13000 block of Whistler Avenue.
The bear seemed to have found what he had been looking for as he made his way to paddle around in the backyard pool. When the fun was over, he made his way across a few driveways and into a drainage culvert where game officers took the opportunity to shoot a tranquilizer dart into its right shoulder. After waiting for the bear to fall asleep, they took him back to his place in the wild.
A beary cute afternoon for this guy! Taking a dip in a Granada Hills backyard! Weāre on #KCAL9 now with @CBSLAsandra pic.twitter.com/tlB9sCr4Nz
— Amber Lee (@AmberLeeNews) July 17, 2018
Fun fact: This wasn’t the Bear “493’s” first run around in a neighborhood! Back in 2016 the male black bear was followed by law-enforcement, tranquilized, and tagged after roaming around in Sylmar.