Home » Santa Clarita News » Bear Sighting On Edge Of Newhall Draws CHP, Fish And Wildlife
A large black bear that was seen in a resident’s backyard in the Robinson Ranch community in Canyon Country earlier this month has been spotted again, this time causing damage to a residence.
Stock photo of a black bear courtesy of wikipedia.

Bear Sighting On Edge Of Newhall Draws CHP, Fish And Wildlife

CHP officers and Fish and Wildlife officials were unable to locate a bear reported near Calgrove Boulevard and Wiley Canyon Road, in Newhall on Tuesday morning.


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“(The officers) initially saw it,” said Officer Joshua Greengard of CHP Newhall. “But after it started going up the hill, they couldn’t locate it.”

The sighting comes a little over a month after a handful of sightings in early June and late May, and Fish and Wildlife officials say people must be cautious.

From a previous story: Fish And Wildlife Official Discusses ‘People Problem’ After Bear Sightings

“Bears are very afraid of people. They’re practically afraid of their own shadow,” said Andrew Hugan, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. However, the problem is, people feed the wildlife near them, either intentionally, or incidentally, which is something they should never do, he added.

Hugan added that residents near the locations of bear sightings and wildlands should not leave food out for the fuzzy creatures to eat, and thereby attracting them more to the area.

“There’s plenty of feed and there’s plenty of water (for bears),” Hugan said, “but would you rather eat bugs or a pizza?” he asked rhetorically. “And you live anywhere near a bear habitat (and feed the wildlife), you’re attracting bears.”

For anybody who feels threatened by the bears, law enforcement officials are required to respond to any public safety threat. But 9 times out of 10 the bear will already have moved on or be scared away by lights and sirens, Hugan said.

“Definitely call 911,” said Greengard. “Don’t try to contact the animal.”

Additionally, Hugan added that seeing a bear from more than 100 yards should not warrant a call to 911, as it is a normal sight living near wildlands.

The bears “are more afraid of you,” he said.  

“(Santa Clarita) is in the middle of a wildlife habitat,” said Hugan. “This is not a bear problem — it’s a people problem.”


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Bear Sighting On Edge Of Newhall Draws CHP, Fish And Wildlife

One comment

  1. Agreed; this IS a people problem. Animals live here. Appreciate the fact that wildlife persists in our suburb.

    About a year ago, some yahoo on the NextDoor app for my neighborhood tried to rally support for shooting all of the coyotes in the vicinity, and some residents voiced their support. “Oh no… They’re trying to dig through my trashcans!” “They’re going to eat my children!” Err… whaaaat? I’d much rather deal with coyotes than some idiot discharging his firearm in a residential neighborhood.

    I’m glad the bears are around.

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About Mauricio La Plante

Mauricio La Plante is a staff writer and photographer at KHTS. He started writing news stories at the Saugus Scroll at Saugus High School in 2014, and came to KHTS Radio in Jan. 2017. La Plante studies multimedia journalism at College of the Canyons, and is often reporting at breaking news scenes and local events. For any tips email him at mslaplante19@gmail.com or message him through twitter or facebook @mslaplantenews.