CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LA CRESCENTA

A black bear that has been roaming neighborhoods in La Crescenta was tranquilized Wednesday afternoon by authorities who cornered the animal in the backyard of a home.

The bear, estimated to weigh between 100 and 150 pounds, was near some bushes in the yard in the 2600 block of Prospect Avenue, a few blocks north of the 210 Freeway, authorities said.

“It was a small bear,” said Lt. Angela Shepherd of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Sheriff’s deputies and agents from the state Department of Fish and Game approached the animal about 4:45 p.m. An agent shot the bear with a tranquilizer gun, knocking out the animal, authorities said. The bear was loaded onto a stretcher and hoisted to a truck. It was to be dropped off in the Angeles National Forest, Shepherd said.

-- Robert J. Lopez