5 Bears Found Hibernating Under CA Family's Home

CALIFORNIA — After a winter of hearing rustling and a mysterious snoring, a California family discovered that a mother bear and her four cubs had been hibernating in their crawlspace.

Once the bears emerged from their slumber, the family could "no longer deny there was probably a bear under the house," according to the BEAR League, a nonprofit organization that aims to help humans coexist with bears.

The BEAR League arrived on April 19 to coax or "un-invite" the mother bear out from under the home and was surprised to find four cups with her, the group said on Facebook.

The mama bear reportedly had three cubs last year before she adopted an orphaned cub nine months later.

"Then she had four active, chubby little bears following her around," according to a Facebook post. "When it came time to go to sleep for the winter she found a house with an unsecured crawl space opening and ushered all the kids inside and told them to 'Be quiet and go to sleep."

The bears peacefully filed out from under the home and walked back into the wilderness.

"It was quite the scene to then watch the four yearling cubs emerge from the opening and join together on the other side of the fence to venture forth into 2022.
Wish them luck, everyone," the BEAR League said.