Bear stirs commotion wandering Los Angeles foothill suburb

A bear wandered a Los Angeles foothill suburb early Friday, drawing curious onlookers and news media.

The bear sluggishly ambled along streets and into backyards in Monrovia, which sits on the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains.

The Monrovia Police Department said officers were monitoring the situation and state Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel were summoned.

It was believed to be the same bear seen a day earlier in Monrovia, where it's not uncommon for animals to wander out of the sprawling forest above the city.

The city's bear safety web page notes bears emerge from winter dens and return to the foothills in search of food when the weather warms up.

That typically occurs in spring, but Southern California's winter has been very mild. Temperatures climbed to 80 degrees in the San Gabriel Valley on Thursday.

Monrovia's most famous ursine visitor was Samson the Hot Tub Bear who took a liking to backyard pools in the 1990s. He eventually was sent to live out his life in the Orange County Zoo.