We’re seeing new Ring surveillance footage of a bear making the rounds in a Paso Robles neighborhood.
The bear was first spotted in a front yard on Oxen Court early Sunday morning. The time was 1:52 a.m.
"Then as I got up that morning, Sunday morning, I’m sitting at the table sipping my coffee in my robe, checking out my Ring and I’m going, ‘Oh my gosh, what have we captured?’" said Carol Barnes.
The video soon became a hit on social media. Nearby residents couldn’t believe their eyes.
"Shocking. Just like, ‘Wow, a bear?,’" said Stephen Adika. "That’s my first thing that comes to mind."
"A friend of mine actually sent me the story from KSBY, knowing that Oxen Court was close in that video, and I laughed it off and said, ‘Oh, I’m sure I got bears, too,’" said Billy Gallant.
He flipped through his Ring footage and, sure enough, one street over, the bear paid his house a visit, too. The time was 2:19 a.m.
"I had to watch it multiple times. We have raccoons and other wild animals in our front yard all the time and I thought, ‘Is that? Yup, that’s sure enough the bear that was there,’" Gallant explained.
The bear walked within five feet of Gallant’s front door. It also tried to get into his trash can.
Other neighbors on Kenton Court, just one street over from Oxen Court, shared even more footage with us, from 2:09 a.m.
"My neighbor came out — it was about two in the morning, according to her time — and she thought she was hearing somebody going through her garbage and so she came out to look and it was a bear, and then she just went up to the garbage can and the bear went around by her car, got scared and ran off," Adika said.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says the rare sighting of this black bear was probably born last year.
"I think it might just be finding its way to where it’s supposed to be," said Ken Spencer of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife in San Luis Obispo.
Officials say the bear was most likely alone and this sighting was unusual. They are keeping an eye out for it but, at this point, have no plans to trap the bear.
One neighbor said that they’re bringing their four-month-old puppy inside following the sighting.
The California Department of Fish & Wildlife recommends you secure any food that might be outside and, if you see a bear, do not approach it.
Related content:
National Park Service: What to do if you see a bear
Home surveillance shows bear making late-night stop at Paso Robles home
