Bear Takes Dip in Pool, Roams Through Yards as Neighborhood Warned to Stay Indoors
Residents of a California neighborhood were told to stay in their homes, as a bear was spotted roaming between houses on Friday evening.
According to ABC 7, the bear was seen along walls between homes in San Dimas, California. At one point, it sniffed a barbecue grill.
One of the news station's cameras caught the bear roaming around the area around 8 p.m., and even showed the animal taking a dip in a neighborhood pool.
"I see a bear jump in the pool and I told my buddy, 'Hey, I gotta get off the phone. I gotta film this,'" homeowner Christian Brown told ABC 7.
"The next thing I know the bear is just sitting on the steps, taking a little bath," he added.
Another neighborhood resident, Devin Campbell, told the station that the bear hopped a fence next to him and that he had to run into a neighbor's yard.
ABC 7 reported that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department appeared to be tracking the bear on Friday, and officials believe the animal is familiar with the area.
The sheriff's department told Newsweek Saturday there haven't been any bear sightings in the area since Friday evening, and that residents are no longer being advised to stay in their homes.
Bears in the United States have recently made news as uninvited guests in swimming pools.
In June, footage of a black bear in Connecticut taking a dip in a nearby kiddie pool filled with children's toys, went viral. The bear was seen swimming around the inflatable pool and chewing on abandoned action figures as a boy and his mother watch on from behind the camera.
In May, a group of black bears descended on a swimming pool area at a chalet park in Tennessee near the Great Smoky Mountains. Footage showed seven bear cubs in or near the pool.
In May, a woman in Florida told a story about a bear that enjoyed taking dips in her pool and ripped through her porch screen to access it. The bear had stopped by for so many visits since the woman, Karen Bockrath, jokingly referred to it as her 'pet.'
She said that for the most part, the bear's visits seemed harmless.
"It was only scary when he came up to my sliders and was checking out my living room," Bockrath told the Miami Herald.
"I really hope he doesn't think my new couch looks comfy," she added.
