Pennsylvania homeowner finds bear living under porch

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A homeowner got a bit of a surprise when he recently crawled under his porch to deal with some frozen pipes.

In a social media post, the Pennsylvania Game Commission's Southcentral Region said the Huntingdon County homeowner came face to face with a bear living under his porch. 

The bear was scared off but found its way back to its cozy den later that evening. Then after another scare, the bear found a new spot. 

"The bear didn't go far, and found another less than ideal denning spot [at least in human terms] in a neighbor's carport," the Game Commission said.

State game wardens from Huntingdon and Mifflin counties worked together to find a better home for the bear. 

They started off by building an artificial den and lining it with straw bedding material. Once it was done, wardens immobilized the bear and took it to its new home, which was then covered with brush and debris to imitate a natural den site. 

The Game Commission said over 50% of all Pennsylvania bear dens are on top of the ground, like bird nests. Ground nest dens are usually in mountain laurel thickets.

"Ideally, the Game Commission will allow bears to remain in their preferred denning locations as much as possible, but there are some situations where the human-bear conflicts require intervention, such as this instance," the agency said on Facebook. 

If you find a bear living "in a less than desirable denning situation," you can call 1-833-PGC-WILD.