Unwelcome guest finally evicted as huge black bear living under home is moved on

A huge black bear that made its home in the crawl space under a man’s house in California for more than a month has finally been evicted.

Altadena resident Ken Johnson said the animal began making its den beneath his home around Thanksgiving, toppling bricks as he came and went.

Surveillance video showed the bear easily tearing away screening and other obstacles and squeezing through a small opening.

Mr Johnson told KTLA he first asked state wildlife officials for help, but the air horns and paintball guns they deployed did not work.

So he turned to Bear League, a California-based non-profit that describes itself as specialising in “living in harmony with bears”.

In a social media post on Thursday, the group said that one of its most experienced responders crawled beneath the home and got behind the bear — which was estimated to weighs more than 500lbs — to encourage the animal to leave.

“I couldn’t believe it was so fast,” Mr Johnson told KTLA. “These guys went in, they crawled in behind him and, boom, he was out.”

The group then placed an “unwelcome” mat, which delivers an electric shock, at the opening.

Video footage showed the bear returning to the house, stepping on the mat and then running away.

Mr Johnson described having the bear around as “unsettling”.

Since the eviction, the bear has come back at least once before moving on, he said.