Black bear spends morning on Oakhurst family's roof, eating from bird feeders

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Tricia Tracey did not need coffee to start her day Wednesday morning, because a black bear on top of her roof was enough to get her adrenaline running.

And it was hungry.

For two hours, Tricia says the wild animal ate the peanuts she put in tree feeders for the birds and squirrels that roam her Oakhurst property.

"He was up there thinking it was a little buffet for him," she said. "(The bear would) swat it out of the tree and then he'd sit on the roof and eat."

While Tricia recorded a video on Facebook live, her husband, Kent, tried to get the bear to run away.

He describes the moment he came face-to-face with the medium-sized black bear.

"I just said, oh *explicit*," he said. "It's always a shock to almost trip over a bear."

Kent says they made several attempts to get the bear out.

"With all the banging, clapping honking the horn he was pretty content there," he said.

That is when they used a blower to get the food off the roof.

"Inevitably it ended up on our main deck which was menacing and when we started the blower and the bear that was it," Kent said.

California Department of Fish and Game says dozens of calls have been coming in recently for bear sightings.

"Spring is the season where everything comes out," Kent said.

And wildlife Biologist Dan Fiddler says the key to keeping bears away is simple.

"Best thing you can do is eliminate any food sources, even trash, but for bears, it is most certainly is," Fiddler said.

And that is what the Tracey's are planning to do. After this experience left them feeling, "beary scary for sure," Tricia said.