Photos: Black Bear Takes A Swim And Wanders Around Residential Neighborhood

A bear was spotted this morning wandering around a residential neighborhood in La Cañada Flintridge and taking a mid-morning swim in a backyard pool.
Fish and Wildlife officials are on the trail of the meandering black bear. At about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the bear was seen near Foothill Blvd. and the 2 Freeway at a YMCA, right after someone saw the bear strolling through a front yard, according to KTLA.

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The bear later ambled over to this swimming pool for a little cool down before climbing a tree in the 5100 block of Jarvis Avenue at about 11:15 a.m. Officials have decided to simply wait until the bear comes down.

Andrew Hughan with the Department of Fish and Wildlife told NBC4 they won't tranquilize the bear, as the drugs can take up to 15 minutes to have an effect—and that means 15 minutes of a very large animal with sharp teeth and claws who is probably very frustrated and scared.

He also blamed the helicopters, saying that they are probably frightening the bear and preventing him from going back into the woods on his own.

"If the helicopters backed off...that bear would be back in the woods in a minute," he said.

This reminds us of that baby bear that got stuck in a Pasadena dumpster. As you may recall, the baby's mother was very concerned about her cub, and the rescue unfolded on live TV.