Aug. 9 (UPI) — A young adult bear was tranquilized and relocated after it wandered into a Los Angeles supermarket that was full of shoppers.
The Los Angeles Police Department said officers responded about 6:45 a.m. Saturday to the Ralphs supermarket in the Porter Ranch neighborhood, where shoppers initially reported multiple bears inside the store.
Officers arrived to find only one bear inside the business. It was unclear if there had been others or if the initial reports had been mistaken.
David Balen, of the Porter Ranch neighborhood council, shared photos and video of the bear’s trip to the store on Facebook.
“After fleeing the scene, the bear was missing in action until found hiding under a trailer on the north east corner of Walmart,” Balen wrote.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tranquilized the bear.
“It was decided that the best route for not only public safety but also for the bear itself was to chemically immobilize the animal, which we were successful in doing,” Lt. Jake Coombs, an officer with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, told KCBS-TV.
“And it’s on its way back to the Angeles National Forest for release to a suitable habitat.”