Meatball (bear)
Meatball, also known as Glendale Bear, Glen Bearian, Meatball 210, and Meatball the Bear, is an American black bear known for his frequent visits to neighborhoods in northern Los Angeles and Glendale, California. He was moved to the Lions, Tigers, and Bears Animal Sanctuary in San Diego, California in 2012.
Life
Meatball was born. He was later ear-tagged with the number 210.In March 2012, Meatball made his first known neighborhood visit in northern Los Angeles and by the end of the summer, he had visited similar neighborhoods two more times, this despite the California Department of Fish and Game relocating him more than after each visit, an ability known as homing. While in the neighborhoods, Meatball swam in backyard pools and went through trash and pet food left out by residents, and on one visit, he was discovered in a garage eating a package of meatballs, earning him his name.
After Meatball's third visit, he was relocated to the Lions, Tigers, and Bears Animal Sanctuary in San Diego, California. Plans to relocate him to a larger sanctuary in Colorado were blocked by state officials after the San Diego facility pledged to build a $250,000 habitat for him. Meatball was not euthanized, the typical response to bears in his situation, due to his popularity online and amongst locals.
In 2013, Meatball was reported to cost the Lions, Tigers, and Bears Animal Sanctuary $10,000 per year. The cost for Meatball's habitat had increased to $350,000 as of 2014.
Meatball was reported as weighing 400 pounds in 2012, 600 pounds in 2013, 500 pounds in 2014, and 600 pounds again in 2016.