Getting Out Alive, Bearly : Neighborhood Rallies to Prevent the Killing of Frequent Visitor

An avocado-poaching, patio-prowling, 400-pound black bear that had been trapped in a Monrovia neighborhood won a last-minute stay of execution Monday--from Gov. Pete Wilson, no less--after homeowners launched a campaign to save their intrusive friend.

The last-minute reprieve came more than a year after residents of Norumbega Drive first spotted “Samson” lumbering into someone’s back yard. Residents said he had become a fixture in the upscale area, and some claimed even to have spotted his mate and cub.

But this summer, officials said, his visits became more regular--the bear would show up at some houses like clockwork every night, lumbering into pools, dipping his backside into hot tubs, swiping avocados from the trees, even stopping by regularly at one family’s back patio to watch TV through the glass door.

Most of the locals said they did not fear the animal, believed to be about 9 years old, and knew enough to keep their distance. But when some residents caught him on videotape soaking in a spa, the spectacle--aired on the local news--captured the imagination of animal lovers, who feared the bear ultimately would be captured and destroyed.

Indeed, by summer’s end at least one homeowner, fearful of the wild animal’s unpredictable nature, had complained to the California Department of Fish and Game, whose policy is to euthanize animals that stalk neighborhoods or show no fear of people.

As the pro-bear contingent launched an appeal to Assemblyman Richard Mountjoy (R-Arcadia) and Monrovia Mayor Robert T. Bartlett, state game wardens methodically laid traps for the animal.

On Sunday, Samson was finally trapped near a Norumbega Drive home and taken away in a massive cage. The development was relayed to Mountjoy and Bartlett, who on Monday appealed to the governor for help.

The governor, acknowledging that “the bear has captured the imagination of well-wishers throughout the state,” sent a letter to Fish and Game Director Boyd Gibbons, urging him to find some alternative to ending the bear’s life.

“I would like you to personally review the situation and assure yourself that all reasonable alternatives to euthanization are pursued,” Wilson wrote.

That, however, may be a challenge, authorities said, because the bear’s teeth have been “ground down,” which could mean that he might have difficulty feeding himself in the wild, said Patrick Moore, Fish and Game spokesman.

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However, Moore promised, the bear will not be destroyed. He said the animal was being held at an undisclosed location for medical evaluation and will be moved today to a Fish and Game facility in Sacramento.

Because Samson made himself too much at home in a populated area--where he posed a threat to humans--his next destination probably will be some form of captivity, Moore said.

“I doubt very much they’re going to turn it loose,” he said.

Moore said the public outcry contributed to the decision not to destroy the bear, which had been spotted as recently as Friday night frolicking for two hours in the Norumbega Drive back yard of Bonnie Forte.

Forte said she did not bother Samson and the bear did not bother her.

“He’s not endangering anyone’s life,” noted the resident of the foothill community, who was considering making “Save Samson” T-shirts.

But Craig Bonholtzer, an animal rights activist who helped organize the Samson campaign, pointed to the fate of the bear that lumbered into an Azusa neighborhood in May. It was shot and killed by police.

“No one wants to see a repeat of the Azusa incident,” Bonholtzer said.

Assemblyman Mountjoy, who has lived near the foothills for more than 30 years, said the incident was of particular interest to him. As a Monrovia resident, he said, he has had his own back yard encounters with bears, coyotes, raccoons and other animals.

Close encounters with the wild, he said, are a fact of life in California’s suburbs.

“Don’t forget,” he said. “We moved into their country. They didn’t move into ours.”