Dead Bear Found Beside Highway

A necropsy will be conducted in an effort to discover what killed a bear discovered Friday on the outskirts of Ventura at the side of California 126.

The dead bear was initially reported to the California Highway Patrol about 1 a.m. near Wells Road and was removed by California Department of Transportation crews after daybreak.

“We’re thinking it was struck by a car, but . . . nobody has showed up and said, ‘Hey, we think we hit a bear,’ ” said CHP spokesman Dave Cockrill. He added that he had never heard of a dead bear found so close to Ventura.

“Usually it’s deer or dogs or something like that, but this is the first bear I’m aware of.”

The bear was taken to a local state Department of Fish and Game office.

Although finding a bear in the area is unusual, the wide-ranging creatures have been known to show up occasionally in Camarillo and even as far east as Moorpark. Bears are common north of California 126, but are rarer to the south of the highway, said Paul Edelman, staff ecologist with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

“This doesn’t surprise me at all,” he said. “It could have come [west] right down the Santa Clara River. There’s a nice, totally obstacle-free route.”