A large bear was seen wandering through the Southern California community of Fillmore, causing quite a scare recently. This bear appeared in a residential neighborhood on Wednesday, and residents were subsequently warned to stay away from the bear.
According to the video below, the area where the bear was seen is located near the Los Padres National Forest, where the creature was first spotted on Tuesday night. After this initial sighting, the Ventura County Sheriff’s office communicated with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife about this situation as it unfolded, with the latter stepping in to safely remove the bear from this residential area.
In this footage, workers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife can be seen removing the bear from this residential area after tranquilizing the creature. Because this bear was so big, it took several people to carry it.
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According to several local residents who were interviewed in this video, this bear was not causing any problems; mostly, it was just wandering around, likely looking for food.
Social Media Is Adamant That Nothing Should Happen to This Bear
A brown bear resting on a guard rail on the side of the road.Image via Shutterstock/artfotoxyz
(Image via Shutterstock/artfotoxyz)
Viewers on social media had a lot to say about this one. Many social media users expressed relief that this bear was unharmed and praised the kids who were interviewed in this footage for noting that this bear was not bothering anyone: “I love what the kids said. The bear was just minding his own business, not hurting anyone. They better not kill this bear.”
However, some viewers on social media were even more adamant that wild bears should never be harmed: “They need to stop killing the bears! Stay away from them and leave them alone!” Some social media users remarked that it was good that the authorities chose to tranquilize this bear instead of harming it: “Thank you for tranquilizing and moving this bear instead of killing it.”
While others had a different take, focusing on the reasons as to why this bear might have wandered into this neighborhood: “The bear is hungry, if that was you, wouldn’t you want food? Wouldn’t you want someone to give you food? Especially if you have kids, you would try to provide them with food.”
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This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Apr 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.