‘Polite’ black bear visits fellow bears at Northern California zoo

An unexpected visitor broke into a Northern California zoo on Friday — and stayed to hang out with its fellow bears.

The visitor, a black bear, “was observed interacting” with the Eureka zoo’s three black bears through the fencing on their habitat, the zoo said.

“When I first heard about it, I thought, ‘Poor thing, it’s lonely,’” said Laura Montagna, public information officer for the Humboldt County city’s police department. The Sequoia Park Zoo backs into wooded area where wild animals, including bears, are common, said Jim Campbell-Spickler, the zoo’s director. But it was the first time he’s heard of a bear coming in.

“He was able to get in by climbing a tree but was not able to get out” until staff let him out through a service gate back into the woods, Campbell-Spickler said. He said the bear was likely 1½ years old, around 150 pounds and dark brown in color (black bears can also be cinnamon brown and blond). “Not an aggressive bear in any way. He was just a curious guy.”

An employee spotted the bear Friday morning after patrolling its Redwood Sky Walk and immediately contacted authorities, the director said. A newer feature of the 117-year-old zoo, the sky walk rises 100 feet above the ground in a redwood forest that includes some towering old-growth trees. 

The police got the bear call at 9:24 a.m. Friday, in time to clear traffic and a trail behind the zoo, and the bear left without incident before it opened at 10 a.m. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife took the lead in monitoring the bear, Montagna said. Campbell-Spickler said the bear didn’t enter any animal habitats or break any fences, though it did explore some “enrichment items,” or mentally stimulating toys that the zoo provides to its animals. 

“Overall, he was a very polite visitor,” the zoo said in a social media post.  

(While the zoo used male pronouns when describing the bear, its sex was not ultimately determined, said Montagna, though a report said “it had female characteristics.”) 

Campbell-Spickler thought the bear could smell the other bears and that enticed it to check them out. 

“It was a young bear finding its way in the world,” he said.

Oct 20, 2025https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/zoo-black-bear-21110050.php

Tara Duggan

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Tara Duggan is a staff writer in the Chronicle’s climate and environment team who focuses on sea level rise, the marine environment, wildlife and animals in general. Tara has written investigations into nonprofit organizations and businesses and the narrative story “The Fisherman’s Secret,” a finalist for an Online Journalism Award.

Tara was previously in the Chronicle’s Food and Wine department, where she earned a James Beard Foundation Award. She is the author of five cookbooks, and her work has appeared in the New York Times and Food & Wine. Reach her at tduggan@sfchronicle.com.