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Morro Bay is visited by thousands of people every year, including celebrities, politicians and everyday folks, but nothing creates quite the stir of a recent visitor.
For the second time in recent memory a black bear was found wandering around Morro Rock on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 7, triggering a quick response from State Fish & Wildlife officials and police.
The bear, believed to be a juvenile, was light brown in coloring was hiking along the trail behind the old outfall canal when first spotted.
F&W personnel were able to herd the beast onto the beach and then towards the power plant property, where we’re told it clamored over the fence and disappeared into the 117-acre property, which is no longer in use as a power plant.
A fire department official said the hope was that it would simply head down into the forest along Morro Creek and go back into the wild where it would be safe.
The bear was not captured for relocation as a previous bear sighted at Morro Rock was.
On Nov. 8, 2013 a young black bear was spotted wandering around the rocks at the base of Morro Rock. The fire department and police evacuated the entire rock parking lot as a precaution.
Game wardens stalked the bear and tranquilized it. It was then transported into the mountains above Santa Margarita and released back into the wild.
On its Facebook page, the Harbor Department advised residents to be on the lookout for the bear because they didn’t capture and relocate it, so it might wander back to the shore again.
