VIDEO: Bear Cubs Take a Dip in Family’s Pool
By KTLA News
PASADENA, California (KTLA) — A family of bears spotted in a backyard swimming pool has returned to a neighborhood in Pasadena.
Authorities received a report of a bear sighting around 10:45 p.m. Monday in the 3400 block of Barheight Street.
When sheriff’s deputies arrived, the bears had left the area. They searched for about 10 to 15 minutes but didn’t find the animals.
Earlier in the day, just about two miles away, a mother bear and her cubs beat the heat with a dip in a backyard swimming pool.
Resident Maral Shekerdemian said she didn’t know what to think when she noticed the furry intruders frolicking in her pool in the 1500 block of Riviera Drive.
It seemed that the bear cubs needed a break from the scorching summer heat.
Maral quickly called her husband, Hrant, just before she called police.
“I was definitely panicking, scared, but at the same time I was kind of excited to witness the bears,” she told KTLA. “Little cubs. They were cute, swimming in our pool.”
Maral figured that bears, as cute as they are, don’t mix well with young children.
And in the back of her mind, she knew that when you spot cubs, their mother must not be far away.
From a safe distance, Maral used her cellphone to record video of the bears as they played in the pool.
Not long after, help arrived in the form of police and state Fish and Game officers.
Fish and Game officials said they wouldn’t intervene since the bears weren’t posing a direct threat to the family.
“They pretty much said don’t be scared, make lots of noise and they can’t really do anything about it,” Shekerdemian said.
The bears got out of the pool on their own. Later in the day, KTLA spotted them lounging up a nearby tree.
Officials said the bear sighting wasn’t that unexpected since Monday was also trash day in the neighborhood.
Authorities say that if anyone else sees the bears, they should make noise to scare them away.
That way, they won’t become accustomed to coming into the area.
