LOS ANGELES — The bear affectionately known as "Glen Bearian" or "Meatball" proclaims his love for food in trash cans and makes high-minded allusions to everything from top-40 songs to the Egyptian revolution. He gives bear hugs, tweets wisecracks and once promised to challenge Kim Kardashian if she ever ran for Glendale mayor.
These days, though, he has stayed busy issuing public-safety announcements: "Yo tweeps: who wants me to die? Keep leaving food out & taking pics. #SeeYouInHeaven."
"If they kill the bear, they'd better bury him at Forest Lawn next to Michael Jackson," said Sarah Aujero, 29, owner of the Twitter handle @TheGlendaleBear.
Aujero, a Glendale resident who drafts licenses for a record label, said she created the Twitter handle in April so her community would stop seeing a threat and start seeing "a side of the bear that they probably don't think about."
It seems to have worked. She executed her plan so perfectly that anxious California Department of Fish and Game officials must now balance the bear's unexpected popularity against public safety. With at least a half-dozen reported spottings last week alone — most recently Friday — Glen Bearian might be slowly wearing out his welcome.
Bears have long roamed into foothill communities looking for food. But in this age of social media, what was once a neighborhood concern can "amplify around the world," said Robert Hernandez, a Web-journalism professor at the University of Southern California who lives in Glendale.
Authorities have used Glen Bearian to their advantage, urging Aujero to tweet safety reminders. Whether his fame has hurt or helped is still in question.
Read more: Twitter makes wild California bear a hit - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_21077847/twitter-makes-bear-hit#ixzz20gBhQxNu
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