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UC Davis Students Wake Up To Alert: 'Bear Sighting, Stay Away'

DAVIS (CBS13) — From Vacaville to Dixon to UC Davis, a young black bear made quite the journey throughout Northern California.

Tuesday was the first time the campus has seen a black bear. Campus police were called, as well as the Department Of Fish and Wildlife.

The bear was tranquilized and sent back into the wild.

READ MORE: Bear That Wandered Onto UC Davis Campus Tranquilized, Released Back Into Wild

Students woke up to this alert this morning: "Bear sighting...Stay away!"

uc davis warn me

Christian Olmos a fifth-year UC Davis Student was the first to spot this wayward bear.

"I drove up to the stop sign, he was leaning against the tree. As soon as I got close to him, he started running right up it," Olmos said.

Olmos called campus police just after five in the morning. They met him and couldn't believe he had seen a bear.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I legit saw a bear," Olmos said.

Police eventually saw the young bear in a tree and called in California Fish and Wildlife. He was then tranquilized, checked for injuries and taken off campus

ALSO: Bear Captured On Camera Roaming Vacaville Neighborhood

"Sometimes they end up in places that are less desirable and around people. He was probably kicked out by its mother who likely just had cubs," said Fish and Wildlife environmental scientist Josh Bush.

Beehives and your run of the mill duo of ducks are frequent "fliers" at UC Davis, but seeing a bear? That's unheard of according to longtime Professor Mary Miranda.

"Never once, never once," Miranda said.

Some students thought the text warning was a joke.

"I thought, 'Oh my God, is this a joke?' Everybody freaked out, obviously this doesn't happen," a student said.

Thankfully no one was hurt, including the wayward campus invader. He was sent back into the wild, just west of campus Tuesday afternoon.

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