Black Bear Family That Grew Too Accustomed To People To Live At Oakland Zoo
OAKLAND (AP) -- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has sent a female black bear and her three cubs to the Oakland Zoo after they were taken in from the wild due to encounters with people.
The department says it's not policy to place large adult mammals into captivity but there were unusual circumstances.
The bears broke into a home in Pine Mountain Club in Kern County in May and the mother bear injured an elderly resident who tried to scare them away. Investigators learned there were earlier incidents.
A black bear that injures a person is normally euthanized but the department decided to wait until the cubs were weaned.
During that process it was determined all the bears were too habituated to humans and none could be returned to the wild.
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