There was an unexpected shopper browsing the aisles at a Ralphs store in Porter Ranch over the weekend.
Video shows a black bear wandering through the San Fernando Valley supermarket before eventually walking out.
Later that day, California Department of Fish and Wildlife officers got a report about a bear in a Walmart parking lot, department spokesperson Tim Daly told KTLA.
They found the 125-pound male bear underneath a trailer in a construction yard behind the Walmart parking lot.
Officers used nonlethal beanbag rounds to push the bear out from underneath the trailer, tranquilized it, and loaded the large animal into a vehicle and took it into the Santa Susana Mountains, Daly said.
The Ralphs and Walmart are located along Rinaldi Street, about a 1 1/2 miles from undeveloped areas in the nearby mountain range.
Wildlife officers tagged the bear with an ear tag, so they’ll know if it returns to the neighborhood.
Daly said it’s not unheard of for a bear to be in the area.
“Bears know that if they come down out of the mountains into a town, they’re going to find food — they’re seeking food and water,” Daly said.
While it’s still too early to tell and it hasn’t been documented, wildlife officials believe there may have been an increase in wildlife walking into towns because of the drought.
“They are going further than they typically do, seeking food and water and that might be because it’s harder to find in their … traditional habitats,” Daly said.