Wildlife officials euthanize bear that broke into multiple LA County foothill homes

CBS News

7 days ago

California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials have euthanized a bear who they say broke into multiple homes in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, a sign that they're taking steps to mitigate a troubling spike in bear-related incidents in Southern California neighborhoods.
Officials say that the bear might have been responsible for dozens of break-ins in the region, like what Troy Chatmajian's mother went through at her house in Sierra Madre.
"Came in through the bedroom, walked through the house, opened the refrigerator and ate all the eggs and some frozen products," Chatmajian said.
It's just one of an alarming number of bear break-ins this summer, and some believe it may be directly correlated with the Eaton Fire burning a portion of their habitat back in January.
In June, there were 41 reported break-ins tied to bears, compared to just 13 in the same time period in 2024.
"We don't know if it's the same bears doing it over and over again," said Laura Aguilar, a spokesperson for the city of Sierra Madre. "By the time we get Fish and Wildlife out, the bears have left the area."
Wildlife officials believed that one particular bear was responsible for many of those break-ins, so they trapped it and humanely euthanized it.
Some residents are torn over that decision.
"I don't like the idea of euthanizing it," said Elizabeth Romo, who lives in the area.
She says that there's a delicate balance when living in an area where one essentially coexists with wildlife.
"On the other hand, you have people that are endangered if the bear comes into their house, and if they have children," Romo said.
Chatmajian says that the decision may have been the best one for the area.
"Doors and windows aren't keeping them out, maybe euthanizing them is the best thing to do," he said.
Mayors from several foothill communities are holding a meeting on Friday to discuss issues with bears in their cities, hoping to get on the same page to keep both people and bears safe.
"The bears don't recognize boundaries, and so having consistency will really help in addressing all those bear wildlife concerns, Aguilar said.
The CDFW has not yet returned CBS News Los Angeles' request for information. In a meeting last year, they said that relocating problem bears isn't as simple as it sounds, since they often make their way back to the same neighborhood they were found in, or die trying to get there.