Bear wanders into backyard, takes dip in pool

updated 9:47 a.m. ET May 23, 2005

LOS ANGELES - A 140-pound bear wandered into a suburban neighborhood and took a dip in a swimming pool before being tranquilized and returned to the wild.

The female bear ambled into the San Fernando Valley’s Porter Ranch area shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday, bumping into doors and windows before taking a few splashes in a backyard pool, fire spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

Homeowner Maryam Salahael pulled her children out of the pool when the bear showed up, and she called 911.

“My dog began barking very loudly. I went to see what’s going on. I see a bear in my backyard,” Salahael told KTTV-TV.

Authorities cordoned off the area as wildlife officials tranquilized the bear, said Cindy Wood of the California Department of Fish and Game. The animal was then released into the Santa Susana Mountains.

“It looks like it’s possibly in heat,” Wood said. “She probably just made a wrong turn and ended up in a neighborhood. She belongs up in the hills and that’s where she lives.”

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