Black Bear Wanders Into Rincon Point Neighborhood Near Carpinteria

A black bear wandered into the Rincon Point neighborhood near Carpinteria on Saturday afternoon, casually ambling about like almost any other beachgoer.
A black bear wandered wandered down Rincon Creek into the Rincon Point neighborhood near Carpinteria on Saturday afternoon, eventually strolling down the beach.
A black bear strolls down the shoreline at Rincon Point on Saturday.
A black bear wandered wandered down Rincon Creek into the Rincon Point neighborhood near Carpinteria on Saturday afternoon, eventually strolling down the beach.
Beach-goers at Rincon Point apparently were unfazed by the presence of a black bear that showed up Saturday afternoon.

A black bear wandered wandered down Rincon Creek into the Rincon Point neighborhood near Carpinteria on Saturday afternoon, eventually strolling down the beach. (Larry Clark photo)

UPDATE: Bear was in poor shape, had to be euthanized

A black bear apparently decided Saturday was a good day to hit the beach, and wandered into the Rincon Point neighborhood east of Carpinteria.

The young bruin was spotted at about 2 p.m., according to Santa Barbara County sheriff’s Sgt. Brad Welch.

The bear likely had made its way down Rincon Creek into the upscale enclave, which is adjacent to the renowned Rincon surf spot on the border of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

At one point, Welch said, the bear was on the roof of an outbuilding.

Mike Taylor and his wife, Colleen, have lived in the neighborhood for more than two decades, and said this was a first for them.

He said the bear stuck around for 2-3 hours, and settled in along the creek, seemingly unimpressed by state Fish & Wildlife wardens’ attempts to shoo him away.

“The amazing thing to me is that he was on the beach, and he was running across the creek, and people were acting like he was a dog,” Taylor told Noozhawk.

Photos posted on Facebook showed the bear ambling toward the beach.

State Fish & Wildlife personnel were called out to the incident, Welch said, but they could not be reached for comment.

The bear reportedly was tranquilized Sunday morning.

Presumably it was to be relocated to the backcountry, but that could not be confirmed.

— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.