Some Santa Maria residents had a surprise visitor Wednesday night.
A bear was spotted wandering through various streets around 8:00 p.m., and was eventually cornered on the 800 block of Cypress Street.
Shortly after 11:00 p.m. Wednesday night, Department of Fish and Game officers tranquilized the 200-pound bear in a backyard, and returned it back into the wild. “We are going to take it up and find a suitable location where there’s suitable bear habitat, and we’ll release it there,” said Jamie Dostal of the Department of Fish and Game.
At the residence where the bear was found, the homeowner was in disbelief. “My mom actually thought I was lying,” said Santa Maria resident Maria Martinez. “‘She’s like…There can’t be a bear. How would a bear get to your back yard?'”
“This is pretty rare,” said Jamie Dostal of the Department of Fish and Game. “Typically we have sightings and by the time we’re on scene, they usually go back up towards the woods.”
Wild life officers say typically the bears aren’t aggressive by nature, but could attack somebody if they felt cornered. They say usually, they’re out looking for food when they come down outside of their normal surroundings.
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