Black bear spotted ‘directly to the front’ of Oprah Winfrey’s Montecito home

A black bear was spotted roaming through parts of Montecito early Monday, causing a bit of a stir but no problems.

Gayle King, co-host of “CBS This Morning,” reported that the bear was spotted at Oprah Winfrey’s Montecito estate, where King is currently is residing.

“You are not going to believe what JUST happened at the ‘Santa Barbara Bureau,’ ” King wrote on Instagram on Monday, sharing a photo of herself and inviting users to “hear (the) message we received from security.”

“Please stay inside the residence because we have a bear directly to the front of the residence,” a security guard at Winfrey’s property said in a video King shared on her Instagram feed.

The guard described the black bear as a “good-sized adolescent.”

Earlier in the morning, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office received calls about a bear spotting on the north end of Ennisbrook Trail in Montecito.

A call heard on Birnam Wood Golf Club’s police scanner reported a bear sighting in a resident’s backyard on the 1600 block of East Valley Road.

A photo from the club’s gatehouse shows the bear right in front of the 1941 East Valley Road property.

The animal was constantly on the move, and is believed to have headed back up to the mountains near San Leandro Lane, where dogs first caught the bear’s scent, according to Cynthia Tippett, a Montecito Trails Foundation steward.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife received calls from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office regarding the bear sightings, but did not send personnel out to the scene, according to Capt. Patrick Foy.

“We had a conversation with the sheriff, but the bear was moving the whole time,” Foy said. “This situation doesn’t necessitate a response because the bear was on the move.”