Large Bear And Coyote Sidekick Stake Out San Fernando Valley Neighborhood

LOS ANGELES, CA — A large bear with a coyote sidekick has been turning heads and turning over trashcans in a San Fernando Valley neighborhood this month.

Neighbors are on edge and authorities are on alert in a Burbank foothill neighborhood where a large black bear has been patrolling late at night and in the early morning hours over the last couple of weeks.

Security cameras at multiple homes in the area around Elmwood Avenue have captured the large bear lumbering through yards.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is monitoring the situation and encouraging residents to protect themselves by making their home's bear proof.

Officials have received reports that the large black bear is a tagged bear, but authorities aren't yet sure which bear it is, said Steve Gonzalez, Fish and Wildlife spokesman.

It's not unusual for bears to wander into the foothill communities. In the best case scenario, residents keep attractants away from the bear, and the animal quickly realizes there is no food to be had outside the forest.

"Typically we'll monitor this bear, and if there are safety concern to the public we'll definitely respond right away," said Gonzalez. "If it's one location in that area where the bear is going, we recommend people bring in attractants."

Bears have a highly developed sense of smell that is seven times stronger than dogs' and a 100 times stronger than people's, Gonzalez said.

Thanks makes an uncleaned barbecue grill an invitation to a bear, he added. Residents should keep pet food inside, fruit picked up and trans cans covered.

"If you have an outside fridge, it's a lunchbox to a bear," Gonzalez said.

"We are hoping if those attractants are removed, this bear will sense, 'I can't find an easy meal here I'm going to make my way back into the wild,'" added Gonzalez.

Tranquilizing and relocating the bear is a last resort. The process can be dangerous to the bear, the scientists and the public, he added.

It does occasionally happen when bears seem willing to confront humans or comfortable roaming neighborhoods during the day.

In January, a huge black bear had to be relocated after moving into the crawl space of an Altadena home.

In July, the same wandering bear that had to be shot out of a Chatsworth tree with a tranquilizing dart, turned up again in a Sylmar neighborhood days after wildlife officials attempted to relocate her deep in the mountains.

The collared bear dubbed Yellow 2291 proved to be something of a marvel to the state wildlife officials studying her. She wandered great distances, seems to cross freeways, and has a predilection for civilization.

That bear, a 3 to 5-year-old female, was first captured in the Claremont area in late May. She was tracked all the way to Malibu and to Northridge and Chatsworth south of the Ronald Reagan (118) Freeway. After eluding wildlife officials for a day in Northridge, they caught her perched in a tree in a Chatsworth industrial park across the street from a densely populated apartment complex.

It's not known if the Burbank bear is the same animal. This bear appeared to have a sidekick — a large coyote close on its heals — seen on home security footage from multiple residences. Scientists aren't quite sure what the two were doing together in Burbank.

It's highly unusual for a coyote and bear to be seen traveling together, said Gonzalez.

California Fish and Wildlife scientists offered a couple theories for the unlikely paring.

"It’s possible it is escorting behavior and encouraging the bear to leave if the bear was in an area that the coyote was resource guarding (potentially food or a nearby young pups/den site). We’ve also seen coyotes follow bears while seeking food. For example, coyotes have been known to follow a bear as it moves through a neighborhood tipping over trash cans, where the coyote will scavenge on what the bear leaves behind (having not been strong enough to tip the trash can themselves)."

Anyone who sees the bear is urged to report it to submit a wildlife incident report to state officials.

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