Black bear spotted wandering through San Fernando Valley neighborhoods
A female black bear has been wandering through neighborhoods in Encino this week, covering nearly four miles in her trek across the region since first being spotted on Tuesday night.
Neighbors say that the bear has been seen climbing trees, searching in trash cans and roaming through the yards of homes near the 101/405 Freeway interchange, Sepulveda Boulevard, Royal Oak Road and Archdale Road.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials say that they're "actively monitoring the situation" and identified the bear as Yellow 2291. They said that she was captured and collared in May 2024 and gave birth to three cubs later that year. While they've monitored the family since, officials said that Yellow 2291's GPS collar battery has recently died, meaning her collar was removed remotely.
"We can confirm this has occurred. She will retain her two ear tags, the right one distinguishing her as Yellow 2291," CDFW officials said, noting that staff members are continuing their ongoing efforts to re-collar her for monitoring purposes.
"The purpose is for monitoring to know their whereabouts," Klopping said. "To know their behavioral patterns, and then, if they do get closer to people, we can know where they are immediately by the tracker."
CDFW Spokesperson Cort Klopping said that Yellow 2291 isn't exhibiting any behaviors that indicate she's a threat to public safety, but still urged residents to give her plenty of space and avoid interactions.
"It's amazing to see these creatures in person, but just seeing them is enough," Klopping said. "You don't need to approach them; you certainly don't need to be feeding them. The last thing that we really want is for these bears to become more comfortable being close to humans. We want them to have a healthy fear."
Klopping said that Yellow 2291's three cubs are likely off on their own due to their age.
CDFW officials asked that anyone who sees Yellow 2291, or any other bears, make a Wildlife Incident Report on their website. They also advised the public to secure trash cans, remove fallen fruit from yards, avoid leaving pet food outdoors and eliminate all other items that could attract wildlife. Additionally, people are urged to properly secure entrances to crawlspaces and areas underneath decks or other potential denning or shelter sites.
