He noticed crawl space damaged so he installed a camera — and got the jumpscare of his life when he realized a massive animal lived there
Many people in urban areas tend to see wildlife in unexpected places due to the loss of habitat and other reasons. However, a man in Altadena hadn't expected to find a bear living under his house. It all started when the man, Kenneth Johnson, noticed that the crawl space on his property had been damaged. Things got even worse with the space in June and Johnson knew that something was really wrong. So he installed a camera to find out what was actually going on. The man was shocked to see what was happening, per the Los Angeles Times.
The bear had been living under the 63-year-old's house for quite some time and the man was terrified to find that out. "I don't know how it got under there. It must be a contortionist. This thing is so big that its stomach touches the ground." The bear had a yellow tag on its ear, but its species or sex was not known. Nonetheless, the thought of sharing space with the large bear wasn't the most comfortable thought for Johnson. "It's uncomfortable walking into the kitchen thinking there’s a bear over there. I don't think he's any harm to me as long as I don't go down the side of the house while he's coming out." The man even went as far as picking out two names for the bear, Ursa or Barry.
The animal had not acted in an aggressive manner so far and left Johnson's house every day to find food. Many of Johnson's neighbors had spotted the bear walking around. It also roared at the man on one instance and left him "shaking like a leaf" for half an hour. It wasn't unusual for the residents of the area to spot wildlife, but it had increased in recent years, according to Johnson. "We're used to seeing wildlife in Altadena. But it's changed because of drought and fire." The man had reached out to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife for help. They hadn't responded yet because of the ongoing holiday season, per the outlet.
"I feel okay with it, but I want him to get out," Johnson remarked. KTLA 5 revealed that the animal weighed around 500 pounds. "It was really big. I've seen it before, but it was going through the trash and then the next morning, it's coming out from underneath my house." He added, "I just glanced at the hole from standing up and heard a growl and a hiss and I just ran." He had gone to the side of the house where the bear was living to change the camera batteries. He was advised to stay indoors for safety, but hoped for the bear to be gone from under his house.
"I don't need a bear for Christmas. I want to get rid of the bear for Christmas." The man told NBC Los Angeles that both he and his cat, Boo, were scared of the large wild animal. "It is hilarious. I mean, I'm taking the lighter side of it, but it's also worrying me a little bit having something so big and ferocious living right there! It's kind of weird."