As a general rule, strange noises coming from your crawlspace mean something’s not going according to plan.
If you heard a rumbling sound coming from under your house, you may or may not think much of it. Maybe your HVAC system is getting old; maybe your better half started a load of laundry without you noticing it.
Most likely, you wouldn’t think, “I bet a family of bears is hibernating down there.” But in one Lake Tahoe homeowner’s case, that’s exactly what was happening.
The BEAR League, a local nonprofit that commits itself to “keeping bears safe and wild in their natural habitat,” reported the startling discovery on April 19.
According to the group, the homeowner and her cohort thought they heard “odd rumbling” below the house throughout the winter. But they brushed it aside after soliciting opinions from their neighbors, who said they didn’t hear anything.
The League described the sounds as “snoring-like.” The homeowners ignored it, though, because it “simply didn’t make sense.”
But when the sow black bear and her four cubs woke up and got ready to lumber back into the great outdoors this month, the racket they made was unmistakable.
Vindicated but confused about how to proceed, the homeowner called the BEAR League. When the specialists arrived, they “un-invited” the full-grown female black bear from her impromptu den.