Barry’s staying put: Large black bear still hiding out under Altadena home

A large black bear still is hiding out under a house in Altadena, despite wildlife officials' efforts to coax him out of the crawlspace he’s been living in for weeks.

Biologists set up a trap for the roughly 550-pound male bear in a neighbor’s yard and sprayed more caramel- and cherry-scented lure around the property earlier this week, according to Cort Klopping, a spokesperson with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

But a member of the media — who did not have permission to be on the property — touched the trap and tripped it closed Friday morning.

“This was something that should not have happened,” Klopping told LAist, adding that officials are surprised by the incident. “This is a trap that's, you know, built and produced for a 500-plus-pound bear, so it's potentially very dangerous for the average human.”

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The trap now will be locked over the weekend, Klopping said. Wildlife officials are expected to re-bait it with chicken, shrimp, apples, oranges, peanut butter and sardines to try to trap the bear again early next week.

How we got here

Wildlife officials believe the bear has been spooked by increased activity around the home, including media crews outside and helicopters overhead.

The hope was that the bear, which neighbors have nicknamed Barry, would feel more comfortable leaving the crawlspace once activity dies down — but that hasn’t happened yet.

“It's our opinion that the stimulation that's been going on surrounding the home since it's gained so much interest has been a limiting factor in what could have normally been successful resolving the issue,” Klopping said, including the lure and the trap.

Biologists have made several visits to the Altadena home, including earlier this week when they set up the trap in a neighbor's yard with a smorgasbord of bear-worthy baits.

Barry came out of the crawl space for a few minutes Thursday night to snack on the treats but didn’t spring the trap before retreating back under the home, Klopping said.

What’s next

It’s the same trap — and the largest available — that helped authorities capture and relocate Barry earlier this year after the Eaton Fire. The animal was moved about 10 miles away to the Angeles National Forest.

Wildlife personnel lured the bear out from under a different Altadena house and into the trap in January with rotisserie chicken, apples, butterscotch and peanut butter.

The bear spooked a SoCal Gas crew who stopped by for repairs after the Eaton Fire in January.

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The male bear after it was removed from under an Altadena home earlier this year.

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Klopping said that experience may be adding to the trouble this time around.

“If he's familiar with the trap … he may be hesitant to go into it for that reason,” he said. “We do think that might also be playing a role in why he's not gone into the trap so far.”

Wildlife officials say they’re hopeful the trap will be successful after they reset it early next week. In the meantime, the department is monitoring cameras placed around the crawlspace so the homeowner can secure the access point if Barry does leave.

Officials also are urging people in Altadena to steer clear of traps and other wildlife equipment.

“We're going to continue to stay on top of this, do whatever we can to kind of help the homeowner and continue to assess if more of a response may be needed at a further date,” Klopping said.

You can find tips on how to handle a bear in your backyard here and resources from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife here.