{"id":226318,"date":"2026-01-10T06:32:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T06:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/226318\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T06:32:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T06:32:06","slug":"boom-hes-out-bear-living-rent-free-under-california-home-has-been-removed-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/226318\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Boom, he\u2019s out\u2019: bear living \u2018rent-free\u2019 under California home has been removed | California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting rid of an unwanted houseguest can be difficult, but seldom does it involve a paintball gun and an electrified mat. A 550lb black bear that took residence under a southern California home for more than a month has finally been removed, KTLA<\/a> has reported.<\/p>\n

Altadena resident Ken Johnson first noticed the bear was living in the crawl space below his home in late November.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a nuisance and he\u2019s living under my house rent-free,\u201d Johnson told the Orange County Register last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Johnson contacted California\u2019s department of fish and wildlife (DFW) about the bear and the agency attempted to trap it<\/a> to no avail. Instead, they snagged a smaller bear, leaving the 550lb one to remain. After more than a month of the bear\u2019s occupation, Johnson threatened to sue<\/a> the DFW for negligence and emotional distress, according to KTLA.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I kept track of everything I tried, it would be Bear: 14, Homeowner: 0,\u201d Johnson told the news outlet.<\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s house wasn\u2019t the first home the bear \u2013 who\u2019d been tagged as number 2120 by the DFW \u2013 had sought refuge under. He had taken up residence in another home in the area before the officials moved him about 10 miles away.<\/p>\n

After the Eaton wildfire tore through the Angeles national forest and scorched parts of Altadena last January, wildlife \u2013 including several bears \u2013 sought shelter in the community. In the weeks after the fire, at least two 500lb-plus black bears sought refuge in homes evacuated during the wildfire, though it is unclear if 2120 was one of those bears.<\/p>\n

Black bears \u2013 the only species of bear living in California \u2013 are largely non-confrontational, having killed only one person in the state in recorded history. The population is estimated to be between 49,000 and 71,000<\/a>, with 50% living in the north coast and Cascade regions, and 40% in the Sierra Nevada.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, a Lake Tahoe-based non-profit called Bear League stepped in to help Johnson by shooting at the bear with paintball guns, which drove it from under the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it was so fast,\u201d Johnson told KTLA. \u201cThese guys went in, they crawled in behind him and, boom, he was out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bear tried to come back two days later but was met with a deterrent \u2013 an electrified mat that covered the crawl space\u2019s entrance, according to KTLA. Johnson added that since the bear\u2019s removal, he\u2019s been able to assess the damage it left, which includes a ruptured gas line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getting rid of an unwanted houseguest can be difficult, but seldom does it involve a paintball gun and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":226319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[111,139,69,147,406],"class_list":{"0":"post-226318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-newzealand","10":"tag-nz","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=226318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/226318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/226319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=226318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=226318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=226318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}