BB-12 left his footprints on Malibu beaches and Malibu hearts
A three-year-old black bear that had been tracked in Malibu has been killed. The young bear known as BB-12 was struck by a vehicle on the 101 Freeway at the top of the Conejo Grade between Newbury Park and Camarillo last night. National Park Service scientists who had been tracking the bear for the past three months say the animal may have been trying to head back to Malibu and cooler temperatures when he was struck trying to cross the busy freeway Thursday night at 10:30. The bear’s carcass was removed from the roadway by an NPS biologist and California Highway Patrol who transported it to the NPS facility for a necropsy.
Biologists using a GPS radio collar say the young bear successfully crossed major roads at least five times during the short time he was followed. BB-12 made it to Malibu beaches on at least two occasions.
NPS lead field biologist Jeff Sikich said, “Roadkill is the number one source of mortality for our mountain lions, so there’s no reason to believe it would be much different for our other large carnivores.”