‘Gilligan’ the castaway bear found dead days after surfacing on island in Davis pond
A castaway black bear that was nicknamed “Gilligan” after he washed up on an island in West Davis Pond last week met his demise late Saturday night as he migrated north in search of new adventures.
The young bear was found dead along Highway 113 after being struck by a vehicle near County Road 27, north of Davis near Woodland, said John McNerney, a wildlife resource specialist for the city of Davis. Officials from Yolo County Animal Services and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife wanted to move “Gilligan” to a safer habitat, but the bear eluded them for several days after showing up in Davis last week.
“We had hoped for a better outcome for that bear,” McNerney said.
McNerney said CDFW officials will conduct a necropsy to learn more about the bear, including its age and health condition. Stomach contents could help authorities understand where the bear has been and what it has been eating.
The bear was first spotted about 7 a.m. Wednesday in the West Davis Pond area west of Highway 113 along Arlington Boulevard and Shasta Drive. Davis police released video from a Ring home surveillance system showing the bear walking up and down a residential driveway.
Animal control officers were dispatched to search for the bear. Plans were put in place to tranquilize or trap the bear, but those plans were unsuccessful.
Bear sightings in the Davis area are unusual but not unprecedented. A California black bear weighing about 100 pounds was spotted near Solano Park in June. The bear made its way toward the arboretum on the UC Davis campus before it was tranquilized and transported into the wild 90 minutes outside of Davis.
