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A black bear roaming a La Cañada-Flintridge neighborhood has sent locals running this afternoon, literally, as a live news broadcast caught some swimmers fleeing the surprise fuzzy fence hopper.
"The animal was first reported in a tree along the 4900 block of Crown Avenue of La Cañada Flintridge around 2:55 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department," reports CBS2.
Deputies Fish and Game on scene of a bear in the La Canada Flintridge area Schools locked down in area @CVLASD #LASD pic.twitter.com/1GtTOTAina
— Burton Brink for State Assembly (@LASDBrink) May 13, 2013
(Oh, and that's a "file photo" of a bear, not the bear in question, the LASD tells us.)
KCAL-9 had their news chopper overhead, and were tracking the bear as it moved from yard to yard, hopping fences and seemingly being followed by a crow. They were calling it a "brown" bear, because of its color, however officials took to Twitter to set them straight:
@CBSLA The species is a Black Bear - even if it's brown or yellow in color --
— California Department of Fish and Wildlife (@CaliforniaDFW) May 13, 2013
At least two schools in the area were placed on lockdown while the bear was on the loose.
#BREAKING: St. Francis High School is also on lockdown due to a bear sighting in #LaCanadaFlintridge @CBSLA
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) May 13, 2013
As the camera followed the bear through the neighborhood dotted with beckoning swimming pools, the shot picked up a group of three people lounging inside one of those pools, and the bear was making a beeline for that very yard. Indeed, the camera caught the three swimmers jumping out of the pool and running for their lives when the bear hopped the fence and got a little too close for comfort.
At around 3:40 p.m the LASD reported the bear had been located and tranquilized:
#LaCanadaFlintridge Bear has been sedated, schools released from lock down. (@LASDBrink)
— LASD CrescentaValley (@CVLASD) May 13, 2013
