600 lb bear in Los Angeles this morning. Texting man comes face to face with it (video)

[Liberal_in_LA]

Los Angeles news helicopters were out in full force early this morning as police and animal rangers tried to track down a 600-pound bear who was roaming the city’s residential streets. The bear was eventually contained in a backyard, but not before one unsuspecting man came face to face with the wild animal.

Tracking the bear’s movements throughout the morning, KTLA‘s news helicopter captured the chance encounter: the man was walking along an alleyway, texting, when he suddenly spotted the bear in front of him . KTLA video available here.

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/ktla-chopper-video-texting-man-comes-face-to-face-with-bear_b44909

Large bear roams in backyards of LA suburbs


LA CRESCENTA, Calif. -- A large bear roaming around a suburb of Los Angeles has been subdued with a tranquilizer dart.

The bear was discovered early Tuesday in a backyard in the Verdugo Mountains area, about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies snuck a peek on a rooftop as they waited for state Fish and Game experts.

KTTV news helicopter cameras showed the bear lounging on a lawn in the La Crescenta area before roaming from backyard to backyard. KNX radio reported that the bear has wandered out of the wilderness area on recent mornings on Tuesdays - trash day.

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Latuf said authorities will take the dazed bear back into the wilderness area.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/04/10/4403222/large-bear-roams-into-backyard.html#storylink=cpy

[Poll_Blind]

1. I'm kind of surprised the newscasters played it off so humorously. That's some serious shit.

Potentially a very bad situation. I'm grateful it did not go from bad to worse.

PB

[MineralMan]

9. Black bears aren't really aggressive animals.

I encountered one when I was just 12, on a trail near my home in California. I came around a bend in the trail, and there it was, about 10 feet from me. We both froze and looked at each other for about 10 seconds. Then, we both turned around and went the other direction. Kinda scary, but pretty cool at the same time.

[Poll_Blind]

12. Hunh. That's good to know. The concept of 600 angry lbs is not a pretty one.nt

PB

[MineralMan]

13. Well, they're still nothing to mess with,

but the typical encounter between a human and a black bear usually ends with the two going in opposite directions. A female with cubs is another matter, entirely, though, but they usually stay far from humans when they have cubs with them.

[RebelOne]

14. They sure as hell are aggressive. You were just lucky.

They are normally shy, but there are numerous reports of black bear attacks.

[MineralMan]

15. Almost all black bear attacks happen in places

like parks where the bears have become habituated with humans. In other areas, they normally stay completely away from humans and react if they encounter a human by leaving. They're better at knowing when we're around than we are knowing when they're around, so they just stay away from humans most of the time.

In suburban areas where there are lots of black bears, they do wander into residential areas from time to time. It happens a lot here in Minnesota. Generally, they come and go without incident. When someone panics about seeing one, the police come and do the only thing they know how to do: shoot them. But, they're not all that big a threat, really.

In parks, like state and national parks, they get used to humans, and that's dangerous, since humans are incredibly stupid about such things.

According to wikipeda there have been only 23 deaths attributed to black bear attacks since 1900 in the US. Almost all reported black bear attacks on humans are not fatal, and almost all occur in park areas.

[leftyohiolib]

2. he saw it he just thought it gov christie

he was mad cause someone stole his doughnut

[Initech]

3. Call Stephen Colbert quick!!

[hunter]

4. I'd rather come face-to-face with a bear than a George Zimmerman.

[Cali_Democrat]

5. Indeed

Bears aren't known to be racist assholes patrolling streets with 9mm guns.

[trumad]

11. Zimmerman pulls gun on Bear---

Bear kills Zimmerman with one swing of Paw---

Bear claims SYG.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

6. Video here (other one was removed):

http://www.ktla.com/video/viral/ktla-bear-face-to-face,0,689960.htmlstory

[Cali_Democrat]

7. Awwww

The bear looks so cute!

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. thanks

[benld74]

10. Bear says, " Hey, how 'ya doing? Hey, where 'ya going?"

[Beaverhausen]

16. I encounted a juvenile bear in the Angeles Forest several years ago

near where this happened. Wonder if that's my bear. He wasn't aggressive at all...just wanted to see what we were cooking/eating. Scared the shit out of me at first of course.