Whether or not it’s bears, coyotes or mountain lions, there’s a sense in lots of L.A.’s hillside communities that one thing four-legged and feral lurks simply past the asphalt and connected garages.
And on Canyon Crest Drive in Monrovia, the residents know that they dwell in bear nation.
Their avenue is frequented by California black bears coming down from the San Gabriel Mountains to scavenge for meals. And one apparently has a specific craving: Oreos.
On Saturday, the bear visited a property on the foothill cul-de-sac and left holding a bundle of the Nabisco cookies in its mouth, incomes it the title “Oreo,” KTLA reported.
Resident Vina Khoury informed the tv station that the animal’s presence has been unnerving. “He’s not simply roaming round,” she mentioned. “He’s really going into the homes. So now, it’s a really scary factor to go away a window open or your yard door open or something.”
Sightings of the sweet-toothed Ursus americanus are virtually atypical on Canyon Crest, a stub of a suburban avenue dotted with swimming swimming pools. The bear has additionally dined on a chocolate cake it present in a fridge at one home, KTLA reported.
A black bear on the Nature Conservancy’s Randall Nature Protect within the Tehachapi Mountains north of Los Angeles.
(Greg Warrick / Nature Conservancy)
The California Division of Fish and Wildlife didn’t instantly reply to an interview request.
As spring turns to summer season, black bears are recognized to enterprise deeper into residential communities searching for meals. People’ infinite encroachment on the pure habitat has led to a rise in encounters with the animals, omnivores particularly adept at scavenging.
They is probably not grizzlies — one hasn’t been seen in California in 100 years — however black bears aren’t at all times cute and cuddly. Hikers encountering a bear ought to keep away from eye contact, make noise and again away slowly — whereas additionally making themselves look larger, the state’s fish and wildlife division counsels. (“Yell, clap, use a whistle,” it says.)
“Most black bear ‘assaults’ are defensive actions if the animal is defending cubs, turns into startled or scared,” the company notes. “In some circumstances, a meals conditioned, or habituated bear might turn into too daring and act aggressively in the direction of individuals.”
Setting apart the specter of a mauling, social media customers had been impressed with “Oreo,” taking to X to unfurl a string of father jokes in regards to the animal’s gustatory predilections.
“Double stuffed?” one X person questioned.
“Thins to maintain the determine,” one other wrote, referencing the lighter model of the Nabisco deal with.
Mondelēz Worldwide, the guardian firm of Nabisco, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The Canyon Crest bear might have a shtick calibrated for social media stardom, however there’s loads of competitors among the many Southland’s forged of charismatic — and probably harmful — wild animals.
In mid-Might, there was an unconfirmed sighting of a mountain lion in Griffith Park. The return of 1 to the 4,000-acre park a few yr and a half after the demise of P-22, the superstar animal that lived there for 10-plus years, can be a trigger for celebration amongst some observers.
And The Instances reported Might 10 {that a} bear photographed in mountains above the San Gabriel Valley appeared to smile for the digital camera. Captured at night time, the image confirmed the animal climbing on a rocky outcropping.
Within the distance, the lights of the Southland twinkled beneath a scrim of haze.
Think about what number of Oreos had been on the market.
