Homeowner Finally Boots Bear From Crawl Space

For one Southern California homeowner, the thumping under the floorboards has finally stopped—and it wasn't pipes. Ken Johnson of Altadena says a 550-pound black bear that slipped into the crawl space beneath his house just before Thanksgiving was finally evicted this week, ending more than a month of noise, odor, and anxiety. Johnson told KTLA he'd spent weeks listening to the animal "banging under the house" while state wildlife officers tried and failed to persuade it to leave.

Officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife tried paintball guns, air horns, and other deterrents, but Johnson says the operation fizzled after direction from the state capital of Sacramento to retreat. Then the BEAR League, a Lake Tahoe-based nonprofit, stepped in. Using many of the same techniques as the state—paintball rounds among them—the group needed about 10 minutes on Tuesday to drive the bear out. "These guys went in, they crawled in behind him, and boom, he was out," Johnson said.

The bear wasn't quite ready to give up its rent-free den. It returned two nights later and tried to get back into the crawl space, only to find an "unwelcome mat" there, per the AP—an electrified mat covering the entry. The mild shock sent it running, and it hasn't been seen under the home since. With the bear gone, Johnson is now tallying the damage. Among the problems under the house: a ruptured gas line. He says in a GoFundMe that the bear caused "tens of thousands of dollars in damage"—a big hit after he'd already survived the Eaton Fire, then lost his job. As of Friday, he'd raised about $3,500.