Bear roaming the streets of Victorville killed after it ran onto Mojave Drive

Social media was abuzz Wednesday with word that a bear was spotted roaming the area near Amargosa Road between Mojave and Village drives in Victorville.

Members of the City of Victorville's Animal Care and Control and Police Department responded to reports of a bear in the neighborhood near Amargosa Road and Village Drive, city spokeswoman Sue Jone told the Daily Press Wednesday night.

"After arriving on scene, our officers reached out to California Fish and Wildlife for assistance however, they denied response," Jones said. "Officers then attempted to tranquilize the bear so it could be relocated humanely. Sadly, the bear ran into Mojave Drive where it was struck by a car and died."

Around 5:30 p.m., @blackndn7 posted a photo of a bear on Twitter and said, “Bear walking in #Victorville gosh I hope they don’t harm him.”

About four hours later, @radiovictor77 took to Twitter to say, “Damn, I feel bad poor bear, (expletive) you doing in Victorville. And (expletive) the city for not having enough street lights. That place dark af. Then again, mf was running and bears move quick”

Later, @radiovictor77 posted a photo of a damaged vehicle with its front bumper nearly torn off.

“Yea bro that (expletive) ran into the street outta nowhere. Past the storage off of Amargosa it's dark af and it hit with the corner of my pops truck,” @radiovictor77 posted.

Because of the lateness of the hour, spokespersons from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the CDFW could not be reached Wednesday night.

Wild animal encounters

Over the years, wild animals have been seen and oftentimes captured in Apple Valley, Hesperia, Victorville, and other parts of the High Desert.

In 2019, authorities administered care to a young bear after California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials safely brought down the animal from a front yard tree in Apple Valley. the Daily Press reported.

The captured bear’s fur was brown, but state officials told the Daily Press that the animal was a “black bear” that most likely wandered into the High Desert from the San Bernardino National Forest.

After the bear was treated, it was returned to the local mountains, according to the CDFW and the Town of Apple Valley’s Animal Services Department.

In 2018, City of Victorville Animal Control Supervisor Mike Cathcart rescued a young, 40-pound bobcat from inside a beer cooler inside the Vons supermarket located at the corner of Bear Valley and Hesperia Roads. The male cat was returned to the wild, Jones said.

This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Bear roaming in Victorville killed after it was hit by car