Rare Bare Sighting In Malibu Comes After Region's Lone Bear Died Last Year

MALIBU, CA — A black bear was recently captured on camera wandering a Malibu neighborhood. Wildlife officials say it's a rare occurrence for the city, especially after another bear — at the time, believed to be the only one living in the Santa Monica Mountains — was struck and killed by a vehicle last year.

The bear was captured on a home security camera video in the Malibu Knolls neighborhood, not far from Pepperdine University and Pacific Coast Highway, according to the city.

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The sighting comes after one young black bear, dubbed Yellow 2291, had to be shot out of a tree in Chatsworth with a tranquilizing dart and has been tracked from Malibu to the San Fernando Valley after being captured in the Claremont area in May.

Wildlife officials haven't said whether the most recent sighting in Malibu was Yellow 2291.

Black bears are rare in the Malibu area and the Santa Monica Mountains. The nearest population is in the Santa Susana Mountains, north of the 118 Freeway, according to the National Park Service.

Last year, wildlife officials attached a radio collar to a black bear dubbed “BB-12," who was captured in the western Santa Monica Mountains. At the time, the Park Service said the 3-to-4-year-old bear was believed to be the only one living in the mountain range — and the first resident bear to be confirmed in the area in at least two decades.

Wildlife officials tracked him over the next several months, watching him cross major roads at least five times and leave paw prints at Malibu beaches.

He died in July after being struck and killed by a vehicle on the 101 Freeway.

According to the National Park Service, black bears are not native to Southern California. They arrived in 1930 when about 30 bears from Yosemite National Park were translocated into the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains.

The bears are mild in temperament and attacks on people are rare.

"If you encounter a bear while hiking, keep a safe distance and slowly back away. Let the bear know you are there," the National Park Service warned. "Make yourself look bigger by lifting and waving your arms and making noise by yelling, clapping your hands, using noisemakers, or whistling. Do not run and do not make eye contact. Let the bear leave the area on its own. If a bear makes contact, fight back."