Black bear spotted swimming, napping in Los Osos neighborhood
An adult black bear that found its way into a residential neighborhood in Los Osos on Thursday was tranquilized and relocated to the Los Padres National Forest, according to an official with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A 150-pound black bear spent the day swimming in the bay, bounding between houses, climbing a tree and napping in Los Osos — putting on a show for area residents who snapped photos and gathered to watch its activities throughout the day.
The bear was first seen around 7 a.m. Thursday.
Los Osos resident Bob Crizer and a friend were paddleboarding when they saw the bear swimming in the bay toward Pasadena Point about 30 to 40 yards away — “like a dog,” Crizer said.
“Both of us were like ‘What are we seeing?’ I told my friend, ‘I was so glad you’re here because if I saw it alone nobody would ever believe me,’ ” Crizer said.
Crizer said he saw the bear then run between houses on Pasadena Drive before it climbed the tree. That’s where he and others gathered to watch it, and Crizer snapped photos.
“I’ve lived in the community since 1979 and I never seen a bear swimming in the bay,” Crizer said.
Bear spends a day in Los Osos
For much of the day, the bear remained high up a Monterey cypress near the residential neighborhood bordering the bay waters, climbing branches on the tree and napping in it, said Dave Hacker, a senior environmental scientist supervisor at California Fish and Wildlife.
“The bear is not showing any signs of aggressive behavior,” Hacker said in the early afternoon. “It’s showing typical, healthy animal habits. ... Bears are really good climbers and it’s way up there.”
The area was temporarily blocked off. But members of the public were able to observe the animal’s activities from a distance, some taking a peek through a telescope.
Hacker said officials shot the bear with a tranquilizer dart at about 4 p.m. Thursday after it came down to the ground.
“But then it climbed another tree, went all the way to the top and then anesthesia kicked in,” Hacker said.
“Then it fell from the tree but fortunately it was uninjured,” Hacker added. “We released it in the Los Padres (forest) and it walked away in good condition approximately 90 minutes after the anesthesia was administered.”
Black bear returned to forest
The black bear was captured and relocated about 10 to 12 air miles from the Los Osos location where it was observed by the public, Hacker said.
Hacker said he wanted the public to know the bear was returned safety to a good, local natural habitat.
Hacker said the bear likely came to Los Osos from Los Padres National Forest, where the local bear population is centered, and somehow ended up in the residential neighborhood.
The community of Los Osos, which means “the bears” in Spanish, is named after the bears that Spanish explorers found in the valley when the first arrived on the California coast.
Bear statues greet visitors at two entrance points to the community along Los Osos Valley Road and South Bay Boulevard.
Other Central Coast bear sightings
The Los Osos bear sighting is the latest in a series of ursine encounters on the Central Coast in recent months.
A black bear was spotted at Oprah Winfrey’s estate in July.
Gayle King, co-host of “CBS This Morning,” reported that the bear was spotted at Oprah Winfrey’s Montecito estate, where King is living, according to Noozhawk.
In April, an adult bear was seen strolling around Solvang. Fish and Wildlife officials shot the animal with tranquilizer darts to capture and relocate it to a remote site 10 miles northeast of Solvang
In May, residents of a Lompoc neighborhood spotted a 300-pound black bear jogging along sidewalks and climbing on top of fences, before it was tranquilized and released 10 miles south the city.
This story was originally published October 22, 2020 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Black bear spotted swimming, napping in Los Osos neighborhood."
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