Five black bears hibernated under a house for months. Tenant had no idea

(CNN) —

A South Lake Tahoe, California, renter had unknown guests living under his house. For months, the renter, who prefers to remain anonymous, had heard occasional purring noises under the floorboards.

He asked neighbors if they heard the same thing, but they only reported silence.

Finally, last week, more sounds led them to believe those noises might have been a bear.

That's when the BEAR League, a nonprofit group dedicated to keeping bears safe, was called to check out the house.

Underneath they discovered five black bears: a mother and four cubs.

• Black bears in the US suffer from serious brain disease.

  The causes are still unknown

BEAR League Executive Director Ann Bryant told CNN last Thursday that the animals had likely been hibernating under the house since early December.

The noises the tenant heard were likely snoring, or when the bears were nursing or rolling, Bryant said.

"Bears don't hibernate deeply, they go into a light torpor state," he added.

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When the BEAR League was called to the house on Monday, the mother bear was in an opening under the house.

She was already on her way out, but she stopped and sat on the opposite side of the patio.

This led officials to believe that she may have had puppies under the house and was waiting for them to get out safely.

After illuminating the area with a flashlight, officers saw a pair of eyes glow from the far corner of the house.

They estimated that the cubs would be a year old and evaluated tactics to get them out.

Finally, the cubs got out without help and found their mother.

• Bear wakes up from hibernation and enters a house to look for treats

"All of a sudden, a cub came out, two cubs, three, four cubs," Bryant said, "When the resident called, he had no idea there were so many bears under the house."

Fortunately, the bears did not damage the house.

In other cases, homeowners may not be so lucky.

In October, a California woman was mauled by another black bear that broke into her cabin in North Lake Tahoe.

And a 500-pound bear named Hank the Tank that has been roaming the streets in the Tahoe Keys area of ​​South Lake Tahoe for months has residents concerned.

Bryant says it's not uncommon for these furry creatures to make these spaces under houses their home during the winter months.

In this case, the mother bear built a nest and all five of them slept most of the time.

Since they woke up, the group has been seen in the South Lake Tahoe area.

On Wednesday night they returned to the same house in search of their previous shelter, which has since been left with an electrical protector that, when touched, gives a small shock to keep the bears away.

Bryant assured that this discharge does not harm or harm the bears in any way, it just scares them.

Animals