State wildlife officials tranquilize roaming bear

Fish and Game officials have tranquilized a more than 500-pound bear that has been roaming out in the neighborhood since 3 a.m.

It may take up to 10 minutes for the tranquilizer to take effect, and in that time, authorities cautioned residents to stay indoors.

“It may have effects on him and he may not be acting how he was a few minutes ago,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Slater said.

Where one tranquilizer dart would have done the trick, Fish and Game Lt. Mark Wall said two were needed due the bear’s size.

“He’s a very large bear,” he told KTLA-TV.

Authorities have been tracking the bear as it moved from house to house, at one point coming upon one resident who quickly turned and ran back inside.

The bear was first spotted wondering around at 3 a.m. in the 2300 block of Mayfield Avenue and has been the story of the day so far as television news cameras follow its every move.

Slater said officials had hoped the bear would move back into the hills before the morning rush.

“Just a bear wandering around, in of itself, isn’t dangerous,” Slater said. But, he added, “now that people are getting awake...now we have to take the action.”

Officials hope the bear will go down in a backyard so they can begin the arduous process of relocation.

“Moving the bear is like moving a water bed without a frame,” Wall said.

-- Jason Wells and Megan O’Neil, Times Community News