Multiple wild animal sightings had people in the Foothill communities on the lookout, for bears and, maybe, an ape.
Over the past week, Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s deputies have responded to multiple reports that two bears — a mom and her cub — were in La Cañada Flintridge neighborhoods, including Monday in the 4900 block of Terracita Lane.
Fish and Wildlife personnel were made aware of their presence and chased them back into suitable nearby habitat, according to Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the California Fish and Wildlife Department.
“[We’re] hopeful that the hazing will discourage them from returning,” he wrote in an email. “The behavior is pretty typical for that area. The bears come out of the mountains and smell the BBQ and other good smells and go check it out.”
As for the story that aired this week on KCBS-TV about a potential ape sighting near the La Crescenta YMCA, Hughan said his department has received no conclusive evidence of its existence.
During the telecast, anchor Pat Harvey led the report by warning residents that there might be “a mysterious beast lurking in the Foothills of the San Gabriel Valley.”
According to the report, a man named Jacob Gardiner spotted the creature swinging from trees near the La Crescenta YMCA and the 210 Freeway on-ramp while he was out for a stroll on a local trail.
The station also broadcast a video Gardiner said he took of the “mysterious beast” swinging between trees. Gardiner told the station: “It’d be nice to actually see the thing and interact with it maybe just a little bit.”
If there is an ape, that would be the wrong thing to do, Hughan wrote.
“I have stressed that if this is a chimp, it could be very dangerous and even a small chimp could easily seriously injure or kill a human with no problem,” Hughan said. “Please tell your readers not to go out looking for it; it is an escaped animal. It may be scared, hungry, disoriented and is not to be messed with. If someone happens to come across it, slowly back away, get back to your car and call 911.”
That said, there have been no further reports of ape sightings in the area, according to Crescenta Valley Sheriff Sgt. Mark Slater and Hughan, who has no further information about it.
“The only evidence is a few frames of video that is inconclusive at best,” he wrote. “And it’s very difficult to determine anything from that.”
Wild Animals Spotted in Them Thar Foothills
