LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. (KERO) — A bear visited the parking lot of a store in Lake Isabella for a day because officials from the Kern River Conservancy said people kept interacting with it.
Video captured California Fish and Wildlife arriving Tuesday afternoon and tranquilizing the bear.
23ABC spoke with officials from the Kern River Conservancy who said the cub arrived Monday morning at the parking lot of a local grocery store in the area. It refused to leave because people kept giving it food. The Conservancy says people were also taking selfies and dancing with the bear.
Officials say those people were very lucky saying no one should ever interact with a bear if they see one.
"You know, don't engage. Especially bears. Bears are very unpredictable. You know, we don't know. We're lucky we got this very sweet little bear that just kind of hung out and didn't want to do anything and just danced with people. But what if this bear was aggressive? And it became violent and started attacking people," asked Gary Ananian, the executive director with the Kern River Conservancy.
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The Conservancy says the bear stayed in the parking lot all day and all night Monday until Fish and Wildlife were able to come Tuesday.
Officials believe the bear came down more than likely because of the drought which is forcing wildlife out into communities because the animals are looking for food and water.
