LA CRESCENTA, Calif. (AP) - A 400-pound bear roaming around a Los Angeles suburb Tuesday was subdued with a tranquilizer dart and removed by wildlife authorities.
The bear was discovered in a backyard in the Verdugo Mountains area, about 10 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, and state Department of Fish and Game experts were called.
A KTTV news helicopter showed the bear lounging on a lawn before roaming from backyard to backyard.
The Department of Fish and Game said the bear had been getting into residents' trash cans in the area for the last three weeks.
La Crescenta sheriff's station volunteer Bill Latuf described the bear as "pretty mellow," just walking around.
After daybreak, Fish and Game officers armed with a tranquilizer dart tagged the bear, which then rested under a tree. A crowd of neighbors watched as it was loaded into a special trailer to be taken to the Angeles National Forest for release into the wild.
The 3-year-old male bear was not injured and there were no injuries to the public, DFG Assistant Chief Paul Hamdorf said in a statement.
The department noted that bears lose their natural ways when they feed on human food and garbage. Officials urged residents to use bear-proof containers for waste, among a range of measures to deter animals from being lured into neighborhoods.