Whether or not it’s bears, coyotes or mountain lions, there’s a sense in lots of L.A.’s hillside communities that one thing four-legged and feral lurks simply past the asphalt and hooked up garages.
And on Canyon Crest Drive in Monrovia, the residents know that they stay in bear nation.
Their avenue is frequented by California black bears coming down from the San Gabriel Mountains to scavenge for meals. And one apparently has a selected craving: Oreos.
On Saturday, the bear visited a property on the foothill cul-de-sac and left holding a bundle of the Nabisco cookies in its mouth, incomes it the identify “Oreo,” KTLA reported.
Resident Vina Khoury informed the tv station that the animal’s presence has been unnerving. “He’s not just roaming around,” she stated. “He’s actually going into the houses. So now, it’s a very scary thing to leave a window open or your backyard door open or anything.”
Sightings of the sweet-toothed Ursus americanus are virtually peculiar on Canyon Crest, a stub of a suburban avenue dotted with swimming swimming pools. The bear has additionally dined on a chocolate cake it present in a fridge at one home, KTLA reported.
A black bear on the Nature Conservancy’s Randall Nature Protect within the Tehachapi Mountains north of Los Angeles.
(Greg Warrick / Nature Conservancy)
A spokesman for the California Division of Fish and Wildlife stated he had not acquired a report concerning the incident from an space specialist.
As spring turns to summer season, black bears are recognized to enterprise deeper into residential communities searching for meals. People’ countless encroachment on the pure habitat has led to a rise in encounters with the animals, omnivores particularly adept at scavenging.
They might not be grizzlies — one hasn’t been seen in California in 100 years — however black bears aren’t at all times cute and cuddly. Hikers encountering a bear ought to keep away from eye contact, make noise and again away slowly — whereas additionally making themselves look larger, the state’s fish and wildlife division counsels. (“Yell, clap, use a whistle,” it says.)
“Most black bear ‘attacks’ are defensive actions if the animal is protecting cubs, becomes startled or scared,” the company notes. “In some cases, a food conditioned, or habituated bear may become too bold and act aggressively towards people.”
Setting apart the specter of a mauling, social media customers have been impressed with “Oreo,” taking to X to unfurl a string of pop jokes concerning the animal’s gustatory predilections.
“Double stuffed?” one X consumer puzzled.
“Thins to keep the figure,” one other wrote, referencing the lighter model of the Nabisco deal with.
Mondelēz Worldwide, the mother or father firm of Nabisco, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The Canyon Crest bear could have a shtick calibrated for social media stardom, however there’s loads of competitors among the many Southland’s forged of charismatic — and doubtlessly harmful — wild animals.
In mid-Might, there was an unconfirmed sighting of a mountain lion in Griffith Park. The return of 1 to the 4,000-acre park a couple of 12 months and a half after the loss of life of P-22, the celeb animal that lived there for 10-plus years, could be a trigger for celebration amongst some observers.
And The Occasions reported Might 10 {that a} bear photographed in mountains above the San Gabriel Valley appeared to smile for the digicam. Captured at evening, the image confirmed the animal climbing on a rocky outcropping.
Within the distance, the lights of the Southland twinkled beneath a scrim of haze.
Think about what number of Oreos have been on the market.
