A bear first spotted in Chatsworth Monday morning has been roaming the Los Angeles neighborhood’s streets for nearly 24 hours and was still on the loose Tuesday morning.
An area resident named Crystal said she heard about the bear after a notification from Citizen that it was spotted near the Chatsworth Courthouse around 10 a.m. Monday.
By Monday night, the average-sized bear was seen on video jumping fences and strolling through a yard.
Onlookers gathered and watched as the bear peaked back at them through the gate of a business.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department responded Monday and were monitoring the situation but left the neighborhood around 3 a.m. Tuesday.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife was also notified about the situation but is yet to respond.
Crystal decided to come out and see the bear at an industrial park near Independence Avenue and Lassen Street after getting another notification around 11 p.m. that the bear was still running around.
“It does seem a little afraid. It seems like it’s tying to avoid cars and people. For the most part it was just hiding … We were actually just about to leave and it finally came out, it ran across the street … and now it’s up on the tree,” Crystal said as onlookers continued to watch at 4 a.m. Tuesday.
“I’ve always wanted to see a bear. I’ve gone traveling and never seen a bear until here in my home city,” Crystal said.
There was no word on why officials left the neighborhood, which is pretty far south for a bear citing.
“That was my concern … the last thing I want is for the bear to get hurt but also people, so I was out here warning people,” Crystal said about officials leaving the area.
It was unclear why the bear, which likely had to cross the 118 Freeway, went to the neighborhood.
It was also unclear when police or wildlife officials might return to the area Tuesday morning.
Check back for updates on this developing story.