A 550-pound black bear that had been living under an Altadena man’s home for more than a month has finally been removed, thanks to help from a wildlife rescue group.
“I’m relieved – no more banging under the house and smelling him and wondering what’s going on under there,” Ken Johnson, the homeowner, told KTLA’s Jillian Smukler on Thursday.
Johnson said the bear took up residence in the crawlspace beneath his home just before Thanksgiving, and repeated efforts to coax it out didn’t work.
State wildlife officials tried to remove the bear using paintball guns, air horns and other tactics. Johnson said the effort eventually stalled after officials received instructions from Sacramento to pull back.
After that, he threatened to sue the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for negligence and emotional distress.
Video of the black bear emerging from the crawlspace of Ken Johnson’s home on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2025. (Ken Johnson)
The electrified mat over the entry to Ken Johnson’s crawlspace in Altadena. Jan. 8, 2025. (KTLA)
The 550 lb. black bear is seen in Ken Johnson’s backyard on Jan. 7, 2025. (Ken Johnson)
The breakthrough, however, came when the BEAR League, a nonprofit based in Lake Tahoe, offered to help at no cost. The team, Johnson said, used similar methods to those employed by state agencies – paintball guns – but completed the job in about 10 minutes on Tuesday.
“I couldn’t believe it was so fast,” Johnson said. “These guys went in, they crawled in behind him and, boom, he was out.”
When the bear returned two nights later to climb back into the crawlspace, it encountered an electrified mat over the opening that gave it a small shock — so it took off. Only time will tell if it’s gone for good.
Johnson described the removal as a “late Christmas gift.” He can now assess the damage the bear caused underneath his home, which includes a ruptured gas line.
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