Bear tranquilized on Colorado campus

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BOULDER, Colo., April 28 (UPI) -- In a brush with the wild, police in Boulder, Colo., tranquilized a black bear that was roaming around the University of Colorado's campus.

For about 2 1/2 hours Thursday morning, the bear nosed around the campus in search of food.

Rhonda Chestnutt, a CU employee, told the Boulder Daily Camera the bear brushed past her outside the Williams Village dorm complex.

"It was like 'Excuse me, pardon me, coming through.' It was running full speed," she said. "I felt privileged to have the encounter."

Police brought the romp to an end about 10 a.m., when they shot the bear out of a tree with two tranquilizer darts. The bear landed on its back on padding placed below the tree.

Jennifer Churchill, spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said bears emerge from hibernation in March and April to scavenge for food.

"We took him in a truck and are driving him out to a bear habitat and hope he'll stay out that way," she said.