Bear Spotted Roaming Rancho Cucamonga Neighborhood Tranquilized, Taken Back To Wild
RANCHO CUCAMONGA (CBSLA.com) — A small black bear spotted roaming a Rancho Cucamonga neighborhood Wednesday morning caused two schools to be locked down before it was tranquilized and carried back to the wild, authorities said.
The bear was first spotted at around 6:30 a.m. and lockdowns were put in place at Vineyard Junior High School and Highland Avenue Christian School shortly after 8 a.m.
Having a bear roaming the neighborhood was quite a shock for residents.
"We've had mountain lions, coyotes, eagles and everything," Rancho Cucamonga resident Elena Gill said. "But it's the first time we've had a bear."
The bear ran through residential backyards before settling in a tree, where he sat for about an hour.
When the bear started to climb down, a game warden shot him twice with a tranquilizer.
The bear wasn't immediately sedated, however, and he began to run away.
The bear was found shortly after, passed out in a backyard, and transported back to the wild.
Ben Schwach said he refused to go outside when the bear was running around, but he did snap a couple of pictures once he knew the bear was successfully sedated.
"I was going to go lock myself in the bathroom," he said. "I'm scared of bears."
A game warden estimated that the bear was roughly 1 year old.
