California officials decide next steps for 500-pound bear meandering neighborhood

California officials decide next steps for 500-pound bear meandering neighborhood Residents speculated much of the bear’s natural habitat was lost in the 2025 Eaton Fire - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in A 500-pound bear with a habit of occupying crawl spaces beneath Altadena homes faces no immediate risk of being euthanized since he hasn’t show any aggressive behavior, California state wildlife officials said, Homeowners on Minoru Drive discovered the quarter-ton animal resting beneath their house on Monday, stating that he had settled in and showed no intention of leaving. The residents monitored the space from security cameras and tried to frighten the bear away by playing loud music and stomping on the flooring above him, according to local NBC4. Following further unsuccessful attempts to scare him off using a leaf blower, the bear eventually departed on his own, allowing the homeowners to quickly seal the opening. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) was alerted to the animal, who is well known to local authorities and carries the ear tag Yellow 2120. “Yellow 2120 has shown a pattern of attempting to utilize crawlspaces underneath homes as sources of shelter but has not displayed behaviors that would be considered aggressive towards people and has not been determined to be a threat to public safety,'' the CDFW continued. “Yellow 2120 is an adult male bear, estimated to be approximately 9 years old and to weigh nearly 500 lbs.'' Steve Clark, whose family members live at the property, told NBC4 he believes the bear is wandering through residential areas because much of his natural habitat was destroyed in the 2025 Eaton Fire. Although the tagged bear has not come back to the residence since departing, officials believe he remains in the surrounding neighborhood. Yellow 2120 has built a reputation in Altadena after spending around a month underneath another local home around Thanksgiving 2025, before later seeking shelter beneath two additional properties in the area. An expert in bear behavior from the Lake Tahoe region previously managed to chase the animal out of a subfloor space. “The CDFW has received three crawl space related reports in Altadena involving Yellow 2120 throughout September,'' the agency said in a statement. In these incidents, residents reported damage to screens covering crawl space access points. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments