A Santa Clarita family was notified about an unexpected visitor Friday morning when video from their Ring doorbell camera showed a large black bear in their front yard.
The animal was caught on camera briefly wandering up to the Hooker family’s front door in the Canyon Country neighborhood just after 9 a.m.
The family told NBC Los Angeles they initially thought the Ring notification was for a package delivery.
“I thought it was like a joke or like AI or something,” said Addy, the daughter who lives in the home.
After hearing reports that a bear had recently been spotted in Valencia, her mother joked about wishing the bear came to their house. Her wish came true just a few hours later.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said deputies responded to several calls of reported bear sightings throughout the day on Friday. No injuries have been reported, officials said.
State biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife reportedly told LASD that they would monitor the bear, which was seen on camera with a tag and tracking collar.
Friday’s sighting follows several sightings throughout the foothills of the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys in recent weeks.
On May 3, a bear was spotted roaming around the Hansen Dam recreation area, prompting the park’s evacuation. The animal was located again the next day in the Pacoima area, leading to it being tranquilized and relocated.
It’s not known if that bear was the same one spotted roaming a Sunland neighborhood and digging through trash cans in the afternoon just a day earlier.
In the San Gabriel Valley, a bear cub was seen escaping from a Monrovia storm drain before reuniting with its mother and sibling on April 23.
Another bear was captured on camera charging a hiker on the Mt. Wilson Trail in Sierra Madre in mid-April.