California homeowner rolls out ‘unwelcome’ mat for black bear living under his house

ALTADENA, Calif. (AP) — A huge black bear that made its den in the crawl space under a Los Angeles area man’s house for more than a month has finally been evicted.

Altadena resident Ken Johnson said the animal began denning beneath his home around Thanksgiving, twisting gas lines and toppling bricks as he came and went. Surveillance video showed the bear easily tearing away screening and other obstacles and squeezing through a small opening.

Johnson told KTLA he first asked state wildlife officials for help, but the air horns and paintball guns they deployed didn’t work. So he turned to BEAR League, a California-based nonprofit that bills itself as specializing in “living in harmony with bears.”

In a social media post on Thursday, the group said that one of its most experienced responders crawled beneath the home and got behind the bear — which it estimated weighs more than 500 pounds (227 kilograms) — to encourage the animal to leave.

“I couldn’t believe it was so fast,” Johnson told KTLA. “These guys went in, they crawled in behind him and, boom, he was out.”

The group then placed an “unwelcome” mat, which delivers an electric shock, at the opening. Video footage showed the bear returning to the house, stepping on the mat and then running away.

Messages were left Friday with Johnson and BEAR League.

Johnson said in a GoFundMe account he set up that the animal caused thousands of dollars in damage, which has been particularly tough to deal with because he lost his job after last year’s Eaton wildfire. He said he’s seeking to repair the damage and make his house livable again.