Trap intended for bear living under Altadena home catches another bear

A bear living under an Altadena home doesn’t seem to want to come out, not even falling for a sweet-scented bear trap – but another, non-intended bear did end up inside the trap.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is assisting resident Ken Johnson in trying to rid his uninvited guest, an above-average-sized California black bear. The 550-pound bear has been living in Johnson’s crawlspace for over two weeks, and so far, he’s not motivated to leave.

Cameras on the property showed the bear milling about last month, and the first time it entered the crawlspace, ripping away a small screen and squeezing inside. It has come and gone, one could say sneaking out, only to return — and has even growled at Johnson as he got close to the underground spot.

This is when Johnson called CDFW, and they said this is the typical time of the year that bears find warm and safe places to den.

“Unfortunately, it sounds like this is what that bear has potentially found under the homeowner’s house in the crawlspace,” said Cort Klopping, with CDFW. “It’s unfortunate. We want to see the bears in the woods, not in people’s homes.”

A large metal cage bear trap, placed by CDFW biologists on Johnson’s property, was sprayed with cherry and caramel scents, and on Dec. 16, a bear was inside it. Officials with CDFW said, unfortunately, it was a non-target bear, not the squatter under the home.

The captured 3 or 4-year-old healthy male bear was released to a nearby suitable habitat the following day, according to CDFW.

“Yes, I can confirm that Yellow 2120 is still underneath the home as of the latest update,” Klopping said on Friday morning.

It’s named Yellow 2120 because of the tag on his ear. Department records show that there had been a previous encounter with Yellow within the last year, where he was trapped, tagged, and released to the Angeles National Forest about 10 miles from where he is now, under Johnson’s home.

It is estimated that Yellow has been in the Altadena area for about five months.