A resident's tale of bears and racoons

Craig Conner and his sons were willing to get a few feet away from a bear in San Antonio Heights a couple weeks ago all for the sake of a great You Tube video.

The bear, which has been seen a lot lately by residents along with it's larger companion, was rummaging for food in a dumpster.

"He didn't seem to be people shy and he wasn't acting violent," Conner said. "He didn't seem concerned that people were watching."

This is the second time Conner had seen the bear in the area in the last few weeks.

Conner was driving down baseline in early June when he saw Claremont police officers and an animal control near Cable Airport.

"I noticed that bear was going over the fence at that time," Conner said. "Later that day it was on the 11 (o'clock) news."

The bear was later found in a tree in Cabrillo Park on 11^th Street and was caught by state Department Fish & Game officials.

The recent bear sightings are the first Conner has heard of in about five years, he said.

However, what has been bothering the Conner family more frequently is a local raccoon.

"This year we've had a racoon that's been visiting us quite frequently since we got a new puppy," Conner said. "When we had an older dog it was big enough to keep the raccoon from looking around."