Sierra Madre resident John Holden received the shock of his life when he got home for lunch last week.
“I came home and my front door was open, and I could just hear the chaos, like my house was being ransacked,” Holden said.
But it wasn’t burglars Holden interrupted — at least, not human ones.
A bear was sitting at the top of Holden’s steps and two cubs were inside, one of which was chowing down on a bucket of KFC chicken.
“He had scarfed the whole thing down and there was no way I was getting it away from him,” Holden said.
Using a lot of noise, Holden said he was able to get the bears to go away, protecting his dog, Woody, and his parakeets, though one bird is still missing.
But even after he scared off the bears, Woody and the birds aren’t the only animals around Holden’s home.
The bears “lingered around afterward” in Holden’s yard, and several bears have come back days later. Holden believes they’re the same bruins who struck last week.
Bears are no strangers to the foothills, and Reid Monninger, another Sierra Madre resident, said the encounter was “nuts,” but he’s not surprised that bears found a way to enjoy some human food.
“I figured it was just a matter of time before a bear got into somebody’s house,” Monninger said.
To reduce the chances of a repeat occurrence, Holden said he has a plan.
“Keep all the windows closed, the doors extra locked and make sure I don’t have any KFC laying around for sure,” he said.