Possible Ape Sighting May Have Been An Escaped Or Abandoned Pet

LA CRESCENTA (CBSLA.com) — When Jacob Gardiner went exploring last week, he felt someone or something was watching him.

"Something was in the trees going from tree to tree, so I figured it was a bird or something," Gardiner said.

Gardiner works nearby hiking trails in La Crescenta, and it was during his afternoon break when he started taking video of his walk just 40 feet off the road, near the 210 freeway on-ramp.

It wasn't until later he realized what he had captured.

"It totally hit me that must have been what I heard and what was making me feel uneasy," Gardiner said.

In the video, you can see something swinging in the branches. It was shown to Andrew Hughan from California Fish and Wildlife.

But Hughan says it's not often people will see an ape in the California woods.

"We've had this before where we get exotic pets and people can't take care of them," Hughan said. "They either let them go or escape."

Hughan added that apes are extremely dangerous.

Despite the risks, Gardiner says he's gone back nearly every day, trying to document whatever it was.

"It'd be nice to actually see the thing and interact with it maybe just a little bit."