A black bear made for an unexpected house guest in the Terra Linda neighborhood of San Rafael Tuesday morning.
Around 2 a.m., surveillance video shows the animal walking at a slow, relaxed pace. It comes up from the street and follows a flagstone path through the home’s front yard. Another camera then shows the bear on a side yard, sniffing around some bags of trash. The animal then retraces its steps, walking back through the front yard and back into the street.
Now here’s the wild part.
The homeowner, Caitlin Estrella, tells NBC Bay Area her 5-year-old daughter woke her up and said she’d had a nightmare. The girl dreamed a bear was having a picnic on the hillside behind their home.
While Estrella was comforting her daughter, her phone alerted her to movement in the yard. It was the bear.
Estrella said her family has lived in the house for more than 40 years and they’ve never had a bear sighting.
“I was running around the house locking all the doors because, where my sister lives, the black bears open the door handles,” said Estrella. “I wasn’t going to take any chances.”
Alison Hermance, the spokesperson for Wildcare, an animal hospital and advocacy organization in San Rafael, said it was likely a young, male bear looking to claim a territory.
“Bears will eat anything,” said Hermance. “They’ll even lick outdoor BBQs and grills. Homeowners can help keep bears at bay by making sure their trash is sealed, bringing in bird feeders and pet food and even cleaning their outdoor grills.”
She said it’s best for humans, and bears, if the bears don’t start to feel at home in residential neighborhoods.
To make sure you don’t surprise a bear that might be in your yard, Hermance said it can help to shout or flip lights on and off before entering your yard. She said black bears are shy and would typically prefer to avoid people.
