Family Finds 175-Pound Bear In Backyard Of Ventura Home

VENTURA (CBSLA.com) — A family in Ventura was surprised to find a large 175-pound black bear hiding in their backyard.

A 5-year-old girl at the home saw the bear in the backyard of the home on Van Buren Street north of Highway 126 Tuesday morning.

"The color was brown," she said of the bear. "He just wanted to be by himself."

The child's mom, Jamina Metcalf, says it all started when the family's dogs began barking Monday night at bushes outside their home.

She went to take a look and saw two eyes staring back at her in the darkness.

"I just figured 'Oh, raccoon. Cat. Possum. I don't know. Just leave it,' " Metcalf said.

Several hours later, the dogs went back outside and again started barking.

But this time, as the sun began to rise, the family got a much closer look.

"He obviously climbed this fence here in the corner and that's how he got in the backyard," Scott Metcalf said.

The family called 911.

A few hours later, a warden from the Department of Fish and Wildlife fired a tranquilizer dart.

"He just seemed really mellow and after a while he just kind of got snuggled up and just fell asleep," Jamina Metcalf said.

The unharmed bear was released back into the wild by afternoon after the bear's ear was tagged.

It's unclear how or why he roamed into the family's backyard, which is near a busy street.