Wayward 100-Pound Black Bear Captured On UC Davis Campus
DAVIS (CBS SF) -- State wildlife agents tranquilized a 100-pound male black bear early Tuesday after it wandered onto the University of California, Davis campus, officials said.
UC Davis spokesman Andy Fell said the bear was first reported about 5:45 a.m. near a parking lot by a park. An alert was sent out to students and facility members.
"UC Davis WarnMe: BEAR SIGHTED ON CAMPUS LS WB FROM SOLANO PARK TO ARBORETUM AREA FISH AND GAME ONSCENE STAY AWAY FROM THE AREA," the warning read.
The bear strayed into a grassy area near the Hyatt Place hotel -- a few hundred feet from Arboretum Drive -- where wildfire officials confronted it. It ran up a tree and the agents backed off. When it came down, they hit it with a tranquilizer dart. It ran up a tree another nearby tree, but fell to the ground when the tranquilizer took effect.
"It fell about 30 feet," said John Bush, a scientist with the state fish and wildlife department. "It wasn't high enough and hit softly enough not to injured itself."
Bush said it appeared to be a young black bear that had been kicked out by its mother and "was looking for its own habitat."
Wildlife official believe the bear was the same one that was sighted near Vacaville heading toward nearby Dixon on Monday.
"This is uncommon," Bush said of a bear being in Davis. "He likely got to Dixon and only found farm land so he kept moving."
The bear was loaded into a wildfire transport vehicle and would be released in the Sierra foothills.
No injuries were reported on campus.
