'There's A Bear In The House': California Family Hides In Bedroom After Bear Enters Their Home And Goes Through Pantry

May 04, 2021 by apost team

A family in Duarte, California had quite the scare when they heard a noise coming from their kitchen on the evening of April 23, 2021. When Jim Rogers went to investigate he came face-to-face with a juvenile black bear. Jim said he had left the back door open accidentally and that is how the young bear got in and began rummaging through the family’s pantry.

Jim quickly let his wife, Barbara Rogers, know of the bear’s presence and the two of them tried to make loud noises to scare it away, they had no such luck. When that didn’t work they decided to call animal control to assist and the responder suggested they barricade themselves in their bedroom to be safe. The bear ended up leaving on its own and animal control was not able to catch up to it. They said it is likely it returned to the nearby Angeles National Forest.  

This is not the first time the Rogers family has encountered a bear on their property. In February, Barbara shared a video of a mother bear and her cubs in the Rogers’ driveway. Barabara said she thought it was one of those cubs, now a juvenile weighing in at 250-pounds, that had returned for this encounter. 

The local authorities quickly alerted the neighborhood of the bear’s presence so everyone would stay safely inside and there were no other incidents. The bear went through every room of the Rogers’ house and left a sizable mess in its wake. It spent most of its time in the kitchen scavenging for food.

Barbara spoke with the ABC 7 news team and said this about the incident, "My husband goes 'There's a bear in the house!' and I looked down the stairs and I saw his big nose and it was about a 250-pound - he said a junior bear - so it wasn't very old." Old or not, they must have been shocked to see the animal rummaging through their belongings.

Jim had the idea to try and scare the bear away; Barbara shared what happened next. She said, “My husband said to make some noise, so we grabbed pots and pans. But the bear didn’t leave, so we ran into the bedroom and called 911, and they said to just stay barricaded inside.” The couple was forced to hide out until local authorities showed up and let them know the bear had left.

The Rogers said the bear spent most of its time in the kitchen pantry. Barbara said, “He went through my whole pantry. He ate prunes and the cat’s food. A big thing of trail mix, he ate the whole thing of trail mix.” She added that the bear got into a bag of flour and made a mess all over the kitchen. The young bear must have been very hungry to approach an area with humans. 

Black bears that live in the nearby Angeles National Forest often venture into neighborhoods, drawn in by the smell of food. According to the Los Angeles Almanac, there is a range of 150 to 500 black bears that call the forest home.  

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The United States Department of Agriculture has specific advice for those visiting the Angeles National Forest and surrounding areas. They say to be aware of bear activity as it seems to be increasing. The California State Government says that the black bear population has increased dramatically in the past 25 years. In 1982 the black bear population was estimated to be between 10,000 to 15,000. Currently, there are around 30,000 to 40,000. 

They add that when camping, or if you live close to the forest, always store trash indoors as the smell will attract the bears. They also suggest that you store other items with strong smells like motor oil, insect repellent or liquor indoors. Or if you are camping you can store any items with strong smells in your car, or hang them from a tree at least 100-feet from your sleeping area.   

Black bears are separated into two different subspecies based on location. The first is the northwestern black bear and the other is recognized as the California black bear. The bear that was seen in Rogers’ home was a California black bear. 

Black bears rarely attack when confronted with humans. They typically will make mock charges, emit blowing noises and swat at the ground to try and scare away a potential threat. The bears are motivated by hunger so a limitation of resources in their natural habitat is what would draw them into a person’s home. This explains why the bear in the Rogers’ home only ate their food and then left without confrontation.  

What would your reaction be to finding a bear in your kitchen? Would you try to scare it away like the Rogers? Let us know your thoughts and don’t forget to pass this on to your loved ones.