A California homeowner finally managed to get a bear out of his crawl space after more than a month of having the animal as a roommate. It took unorthodox methods. Volunteers fired paintballs at the creature.
Since November 30, Altadena homeowner Ken Johnson has had a black bear under his home. It crawled under the space and wouldn't leave. For weeks, he's begged officials to remove the creature. But it's been slow progress. That's when The Bear League stepped into the situation and helped remove the animal quickly.
"We heard about Ken, we felt bad for him and flew down and got the bear out," said Ann Bryant, the founder and executive director. They fired paintballs at the crawl space until the bear left its hiding spot. "The bear was gone in 20 minutes," Bryant said. The paintballs are filled with vegetable oil and not paint.
Bear Removed
But they got the job done. The organization reportedly removes multiple bears a day. After the animal left, Johnson boarded up the crawl space with wood and sandbags. The Bear League also placed an electric mat in front of the crawlspace to deter the creature. Later, the animal returned and got shocked.
"He came back, and I was like, 'oh my gosh.' He hit the mat and scurried away into darkness," Johnson said.
The news comes after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife tried to remove the bear for over a month. Johnson eventually threatened to sue the agency.
"Despite very limited staff, CDFW biologists have been in constant communication with this homeowner since this bear was reported entering his unsecured crawlspace in November," a CDFW spokesperson told The Post. "We remain committed to helping this homeowner and have never indicated otherwise."
Johnson will be relieved to have the animal gone.
"It's a lot more stressful than I thought," Johnson said. "A bear is not a good roommate. We're meant to co-exist, not co-habitat."
