Furious LA homeowner in living hell after California officials banned him from removing enormous brown BEAR squatting at his house
A California homeowner threatened to sue the state after the Department of Fish and Wildlife failed to remove a 550-pound bear living under his home.
Kenneth Johnson, 63, discovered the massive male black bear taking up residence in the crawl space of his $1.5 million home in Altadena just before Thanksgiving.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) tried to catch the monster, which researchers named Yellow 2120, with bait and noisemakers.
However, their efforts were unsuccessful when they trapped a smaller bear on December 9th.
“I knew my bear wasn’t coming out because he had enough cameras on him,” Johnson said. Los Angeles Times.
The department tagged and released the little bear, but Johnson said Yellow 2120 was still terrorizing his home despite efforts to get the creature out.
Johnson said he installed a foam burglar alarm in the outlet so it made a rattling sound, and burned CDs of dog barking sounds for hours and pointed speakers at the vents.
“If I kept a record of everything I tried, Bear would be 14, House would be 0,” Johnson added. KTLAHe uses a sports analogy to illustrate his losing record with the bear.
Kenneth Johnson, 63, (pictured) threatened to sue the California Fish and Wildlife Service after it failed to remove the 550-pound bear living under his home
Johnson discovered the massive male black bear taking up residence in the vacant lot of his Altadena home just before Thanksgiving.
Johnson is now threatening to sue the department, accusing officials of negligence and emotional distress after claiming they suddenly told him to abandon efforts to remove the bear.
‘I felt so defeated. I just fell. What happens now? It’s all up to me and I have to look at my phone when I go out in the middle of the night? Or will you sleep in the kitchen and listen to it every night?’ he said.
He even said that when he asked if he could continue to take the bear out on his own, he was told, ‘No, I can’t do that.’
‘This has gone on long enough and it’s something they need to deal with. A tagged bear. They’ve dealt with this before. “They chose not to euthanize, and now he’s back and will continue to do so,” Johnson said.
But a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told the Daily Mail they were committed to helping Johnson.
‘Despite very limited staff, CDFW biologists have been in constant contact with this host since this bear was reported entering the unsecured roaming area in November. We remain committed to helping this homeowner and have never indicated otherwise,” the spokesperson said.
‘CDFW biologists set baited traps, installed cameras and lights for remote monitoring, and worked repeatedly to remove the bear from this property. CDFW also recommended securing the crawl space in most cases where the bear leaves the home; This is a critically important step to help ensure the bear cannot return.’
The spokesperson added: ‘CDFW will continue to engage with the homeowner to advise on hazing methodologies and the critical need to close the crawl space, monitor cameras and offer support to help ensure the bear leaves the crawl space and finds more suitable habitat.’
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Authorities tried to catch the monster, which researchers named Yellow 2120, with bait and noisemakers, but were unsuccessful.
Johnson claimed the Department of Fish and Wildlife told him they would no longer help remove the beast, but a department spokesperson told the Daily Mail they were committed to helping.
Authorities recognized Yellow 2120 as a bear that was stranded near Altadena last year and moved about 10 miles from Johnson’s home, according to the LA Times.
Johnson told local media he could still hear the bear moving around and feared for his safety.
‘I can hear the plastic breaking apart underneath and one of the cameras caught it going over it. “It’s a mess out there,” Johnson said.
Johnson had to turn off his gas after taking video of the bear’s broken pipe on Christmas Eve and said he hasn’t had hot water since.
‘I’m tired of everything now,’ he said. ‘I clear my mind for a while and then suddenly I’m flooded, oh right, I can’t take a hot shower. ‘I need to monitor the situation at all times.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Johnson for further comment.
