When my partner, Brian, and I first moved into our house in the foothills of Monrovia, California, in November 2022, we knew there was something unusual about the place. It has stunning views over the San Gabriel valley, a lovely pool and guest house. It is the last house before the Angeles national forest begins.
On our first visit to the house, we saw a family of American black bears walking through the backyard. At first, I was a little scared as I hadn’t been around bears before, and thought of the online videos of bears wreaking havoc by entering people’s homes and stealing food. But we liked the house so much that we decided to learn to live alongside them.
Brian grew up on a farm in Oklahoma, and I’m from an inland area east of Los Angeles. We both like animals, but neither of us were wildlife aficionados before we moved here. Then, after three months of living here, we fell in love with Maddie.
Many bears visit our yard – they appear around four or five times a week. We see them from our cameras in the garden. They include several 500lb males and a naughty yearling we call “punky bear”. But Maddie is the most distinctive. She is recognisable not only from her size – she is slightly smaller than the adult males – but also from her demeanour.
While other bears will turn around when they encounter people, Maddie will do the opposite. She watches us while we’re eating. She will press her nose up to the window next to the dining table. Once, she walked through the garden when we were having a pool party, and our guests got excited and started going crazy. That would scare most bears, but Maddie was not fazed. When we first met her, her boldness made us a little nervous, but we realised she’s a sweetheart, as long as we keep a safe distance.
By the beginning of this year, we hadn’t seen Maddie for a few months. We were curious and a bit worried. Then one Monday at the beginning of May, I went to work and realised that I had forgotten my gym bag – I had a session with a personal trainer straight after work – and decided to go home to make lunch and pick up the bag.
I had just arrived and sat down to eat when I felt eyes on me, and, sure enough, when I turned around, Maddie was there at the window. I was ecstatic to see her and walked over to have a closer look. Then, to my surprise, I saw two tiny cubs on the patio. Maddie must have given birth.
I picked up my phone and started filming the three of them, capturing Maddie strolling towards the pool with her babies. I was so excited, because I had never seen cubs so tiny before – they looked at most a few months old. Mama bears like Maddie usually give birth around January – the cubs looked like they had come out of the den for the first time. I was overjoyed to witness this rare sight – it is unusual for humans to see cubs that age, as mother bears are very protective.
Keeping my distance, I ran to the guest house to get a better view, and watched as Maddie plunged into the pool to cool off. She started showing her cubs how to swim – but they stood nervously on the edge, too scared to get in the water.
I sent the video to Brian, who was at work. He was gutted to have missed the bears in person. We posted the video on Instagram and couldn’t believe it when it was picked up by media outlets around the world. People added so many adorable comments, it spread so much joy.
I think people find it hilarious to see bears treat our pool like it’s their own. We don’t mind – they pop in for five-minute swims. It’s not as if they’re hanging around all day demanding margaritas.
after newsletter promotion
Sadly, the last few times I have seen Maddie she has only been with one cub – I’m not sure her second survived. It’s upsetting, but, unfortunately, that’s nature.
Maddie never did manage to persuade her babies to swim that day, but recent footage from our camera shows that her cub has learned how to cool off in our garden fountain. I’m sure he’ll graduate to the pool soon.
As told to Sarah Collins
Do you have an experience to share? Email [email protected]
