Bear intruder startles Arnold couple: "He definitely could have done some damage"
ARNOLD – A Calaveras County couple had quite the wakeup call this week: An early morning intruder of the four-legged kind was wandering into their home – and this fuzzy creature was not looking to make friends.
Nicole and Larry Collum got an unexpected alarm at 2 a.m. from their home's security camera.
What they saw on the screen was quite a big surprise.
"There was a bear coming into the garage," Larry said.
The black bear slowly making its way through the garage door that had accidentally been left open.
"It was huge," Nicole said. "That bear was very big."
The couple says they've seen bears around the town of Arnold before – but never so close to home.
"He definitely could have done some damage and he definitely wasn't afraid of me," Larry said.
The BEAR League says encounters with people are a growing problem in California's mountain and foothill communities.
"There is not a day that goes by that the BEAR League doesn't receive a call about 'I've got a bear under my deck,' or 'I've got a bear under my house," said Ann Bryant.
Wildlife officials say this year's record-breaking weather is also affecting the bears' food source. Higher-elevation vegetation is still covered with snow, so the animals are instinctively coming down the hill to find fresh greens.
"They're all just waking up and looking for food," Nicole said.
In this case, the Collums think the bear was after their garbage can inside the garage.
"A bear that size could and would easily shred me to get to that trash can," Larry said.
After that close encounter with a wild new neighbor, the Collums say they're not leaving any door not even barely open.
"It was very alarming, but it was beautiful to look at," Nicole said.
Wildlife officials say never feed bears and urge people not to leave out garbage, pet food, or anything else that the animals might find tasty.