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A young black bear was spotted wandering around the base of Morro Rock on Wednesday — an unusual sight that sparked awe among community members and an official response from authorities.
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Videos and photos circulated on social media on showing the bear climbing around the base of The Rock and in its vicinity.
Morro Bay Harbor Patrol first reported the bear sighting around 7:50 a.m., sparking a response from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and regional biologists, Fish and Wildlife spokesperson Krysten Kellum said Wednesday afternoon.
Kellum said the bear was estimated to be about 2 years old.
“It is not common to find a bear near Morro Rock, but bears are known to follow wildlife corridors such as rivers or creeks that lead into cities or towns,” she said.
Kellum said responders used “hazing techniques” to usher the bear away from The Rock, which is a popular destination for tourists who visit the nearby beaches and embarcadero.
The bear was led in the direction of Morro Creek, and Kellum said experts believed it would follow the creek toward its original habitat.
Photographer says bear sighting was ‘a good moment’
Campground host and photographer Jim Oliphant was at the Morro Bay State Park Campground early Wednesday morning when he overheard from a park ranger’s radio that there was a bear at Morro Rock.
“I said, ‘Oh, great! I’ve got my camera in my truck. I’ll see you later,’” Oliphant recounted to The Tribune.
He said he arrived before most of the authorities, and no one on scene knew exactly where the bear had gone, but he spoke with a surfer who told him the bear had recently wandered down to the rocks.
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Later, the bear emerged from behind a bush and attempted to scale up the Rock before thinking better of it and reversing course once it got about a third of the way or more up, said Oliphant, who had begun taking photos of the unusual visitor.
“A couple times, it was almost like (the bear) was posing,” he added.
In three years of volunteering as a campground host in Morro Bay during the summers, Oliphant said he’s never seen a bear at Morro Rock.
“But I’m always looking for something to photograph, and … today was a good moment,” he said.
This is not the first time a young bear has been spotted in unusual locations in San Luis Obispo County in recent months.
A bear was seen wandering around residential neighborhoods, digging through green bins and climbing through backyards in Pismo Beach and Arroyo Grande in early September.
That bear, also around 2 years old, was trapped and relocated after likely wandering around the area since April, The Tribune reported.
This story was originally published October 7, 2026 at 9:08 PM with the headline “Black bear spotted wandering around Morro Rock.”
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