There’s been a rare bear sighting in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
National Park Service officials say there hasn’t been a resident black bear population there since the 1800’s, with the bears now mostly found in the San Gabriel, and Santa Susana Mountains.
It’s extremely unusual for the bears to be traveling south of the 101 Freeway.
A camera trap set up in Malibu Creek State Park snapped a picture of a black bear July 26th.
National Park Service researchers are now checking cameras set up in the Liberty Canyon area of Agoura Hills, to see if it may have used that popular corridor for wildlife.
In 2014, a bear was struck and killed on a 101 Freeway offramp in Westlake Village.
The Park Service, along with other wildlife groups is hoping to build a wildlife crossing so mountain lions, deer, and other wildlife can safely cross the 101 to get to wildlife areas on both side of the freeway.
