MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — The National Park Service says camera traps recorded a rare sighting of a black bear in Malibu Creek State Park.
The service said Thursday researchers spotted the bear in July 26 images taken by cameras that monitor wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains, which are hemmed in by freeways and urban sprawl.
The Santa Monicas lying west of Los Angeles have not had a resident bear population since the 1800s when the range was home to grizzlies, which are now extinct in California.
Black bears now live in nearby ranges such as the Santa Susanas and San Gabriels but are rarely found south of U.S. 101. A bear was killed in 2014 an off-ramp in Westlake Village.
State parks district Superintendent Craig Sap says that if the bear decides to stay in Malibu Creek's 8,000 acres — "let's see what we can do to co-exist with it."
