A black bear with a long history of ransacking cars and buildings in search of food, was destined to be euthanized, but now she and her three young cubs will live out their days at Oakland Zoo.

This is the first time an adult black bear, marked as being a public threat, has ever been transferred to a zoo, although officials caution it doesn’t mean it will happen again.

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Bay Area might not be under siege by rats, but for many, it feels like it The bears arrived at Oakland Zoo on Tuesday and will eventually make their home in the zoo’s 56-acre California Trail expansion, which will focus on California’s natural habitat and is an attempt to highlight native species and educate the public about human-wildlife issues.

The sow and her cubs were taken into custody after a terrifying early morning encounter with a couple in Kern County. On May 15, the bears broke into a home in Pine Mountain Club. and although the homeowners attempted to drive them away by banging on pots and pans, the bears refused to go.

The sow charged the couple and swiped at the woman, injuring her left arm. The woman was treated at an area hospital and is recovering.

The female bear had been in the area the past two years, and was known for scavenging. This appears to be her first litter of cubs. In the weeks before the May 15 encounter, the bears had been active in the area, causing significant damage to cars, homes and garages, but they had never threatened anyone.

However, it is a Fish and Wildlife policy that when a black bear is known to have attacked or injured someone, it is deemed a public safety danger and is marked for euthanasia.

The night following the encounter, officials set up a bear trap in a nearby culvert and captured all four bears. The cubs have not been weaned, and while their mother was to be destroyed, officials hoped to rehabilitate the cubs and release them back into the wild.

After observing the cubs, however, officials determined they had been habituated to humans and are not suitable candidates for release. Fish and Wildlife then began to search for a captive facility for the young bears.

When Oakland Zoo officials learned of the foursome, they asked Fish and Wildlife for the bears, believing the zoo can offer them a good home.

Although it went against Fish and Wildlife policy to place large, adult mammals into captivity, it was decided the zoo offered a unique opportunity to preserve the bears’ lives and provide education for the public.

The California Trail exhibit will open to the public in the summer of 2018.

“Oakland Zoo is very grateful to be in a position to provide a home for these bears,” Dr. Joel Parrott, president and CEO of Oakland Zoo, said in a news release. “They are an important example of the human-wildlife conflict, and highlight how we need to care for wildlife throughout California.”

Colleen Kinzley, director of Animal Care, Conservation and Research at Oakland Zoo, said the bears represent what happens too often when wild animals come into conflict with humans.

“It’s the animals that lose,” she said. “Oakland Zoo’s purpose is to help people understand the challenges and the responsibilities of living with wildlife. Our first responsibility will be to provide these bears a rich life in a complex natural habitat.”

Brandon Munk, Fish and Wildlife veterinarian, said while it would have been best for the bears to remain in the wild, sometimes that’s not an option. In this case, the bears were just too familiar with humans

“There will never be enough space in zoos to place habituated or public safety animals,” Munk said, “so we all must do our part to keep wildlife wild, by not feeding wildlife.”

Despite extensive public education and outreach in Pine Mountain Club about how to live in bear country, many residents are feeding the bears, directly and indirectly. Not only is feeding wild animals illegal, giving them access to human food and garbage causes them to lose their natural foraging habits and can make them aggressive.

The bears are in quarantine and their health is being monitored. The public’s first chance to see them will be when they enter their new habitat. The zoo also plans to set up web cams.