California House owner Threatens to Sue State Over 550-Lb. Bear Below His House

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A California homeowner is threatening to sue the California Department of Fish and Wildlife amid an ongoing saga involving a 550-pound bearKenneth Johnson discovered the bear living in the crawlspace under his home this November, after months of noticing damage on his propertyIn December, the state attempted to trap the bear in Johnson’s crawlspace, but captured a different bear

A California homeowner can’t bear his uninvited houseguest anymore.

Altedena resident Kenneth Johnson is threatening to sue the California Department of Fish and Wildlifealleging negligence and emotional distress amid an ongoing saga involving a 550-lb. bear living underneath his house.

According to local news station KTLAthe state is no longer stepping in to help Johnson deal with the wild animal.

“This has gone on long enough, and it’s something that they should deal with. It’s a tagged bear. They’ve dealt with it before. They chose not to euthanize it, and now it’s back, and it’s just going to keep on doing this,” Johnson told the outlet.

Stock photo of a black bear.

Getty

Johnson first discovered the massive bear living in his crawlspace in November after noticing minor damage around his home’s exterior throughout the year. He set up a security camera and got footage of the bear walking by the house.

That November, Johnson caught the bear crawling into his backyard’s crawlspace on film. “When I saw it all torn up, I thought, ‘He must not be under there,’ because there is no way a bear could fit,” Johnson told NBC Los Angeles at the time.

“I don’t know how it got under there. It must be a contortionist. This thing is so big its stomach touches the ground,” Johnson told the Los Angeles Times about the animal.

“It’s uncomfortable walking into the kitchen thinking there’s a bear over there. I don’t think he’s any harm to me as long as I don’t go down the side of the house while he’s coming out.”

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife initially helped Johnson with the bear by attempting to capture them in December. However, they captured the wrong bear.

The footage captured by Johnson, along with the department’s footage of their capture, showed two very different bears. The non-target bear that was captured was released to a “suitable habitat,” per CBS News.

The target bear, however, is still on the loose. The 550-lb. creature appears to have brown fur and is of an indeterminate species. The California Fish and Wildlife Department said that black bears are the only wild bears found in the state.

Courtesy of California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife

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“If I kept track of everything I tried, it would be Bear 14, Homeowner 0,” Johnson told KTLA in late December of the ongoing issue.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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