Malibu Black Bear Spotted Again by National Park Service

MALIBU, CA — The black bear spotted in Malibu Creek Canyon last month was spotted again by the National Park Service, this time in Zuma and Trancas canyons, the agency announced.

The bear was caught on the Park Service camera in Zuma/Trancas canyons on June 2, nearly a month and a half before it was spotted on the Malibu Creek State Park camera, but because it takes time for the NPS to retrieve the footage, the photo was only released this past weekend.

Park officials said they have no reason to believe the bear was not the same one spotted in Malibu Creek. The photo proves that the animal was able to traverse the fragmented habitat of the Santa Monica Mountains safely and relatively undetected, according to the NPS.

The agency said it is eagerly waiting for more clues.

The Santa Monica Mountains have not had a resident bear population since the 1800s when grizzlies were extirpated from California, according to the NPS. There is a black bear population on the north end of Los Angeles County, including the Santa Susana and San Gabriel mountains.

It is extremely rare, but not unheard of, for black bears to be seen south of the 101 Freeway. In 2014, a black bear was killed on the 101 Freeway off-ramp in Westlake Village. There is a proposal for a wildlife crossing in Agoura Hills to connect the habitat in the Santa Monicas to the open space in the north, particularly because the mountain lion population in the Santa Monicas shows some of the lowest known genetic diversity anywhere in the West, according to the NPS.

Photo courtesy of the NPS