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Deadly Night For Black Bears In Albuquerque, NM Area

New Mexico Game and Fish

CEDAR CREST, NM --(Ammoland.com)-One person killed a black bear when it approached aggressively Wednesday night, and another person killed one that was attacking a llama near Placitas, the Department of Game and Fish announced Thursday.

State law allows individuals to kill wildlife when it is a threat to human safety, or is destroying crops or other property. As of early this week, the Department has handled 151 bear complaints since April 1, with more coming in each day.

More than 30 bears have been killed statewide since April 1, mostly males that were observed breaking into houses, attacking livestock, or involved in bear attacks on humans.

The bear killed in Cedar Crest by a citizen who felt threatened was a male roughly 200 pounds or more, shot once at about 15 feet. The llama attack was the work of an older male bear with worn teeth and about 175 pounds. The llama survived.

Game and Fish Conservation Officer John Martsh also caught a large male bear in a trap Wednesday night, and then had to respond to two additional bear calls.

“The bear activity is not slowing down,” Martsh said.

Thursday’s trapped bear was approximately 300 pounds and is the second one to be caught this year at the same residence on Juniper Hill Loop in Cedar Crest.

Although food shortages typically create bear problems each spring and summer, the aggressive nature of bears this year also may be a sign of an expanding bear population in some areas of the state, Department officials said.

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SUFI Student Ends Bear Encounter By Fighting Back

New Mexico Game and Fish

TORREON, NM --(Ammoland.com)- Patrick Almy of Switzerland came to New Mexico to study Sufi in the Manzano Mountains near here.

Tuesday morning he awoke to a small cinnamon-colored black bear sitting on top of his tent.

The bear scratched Almy during his efforts to get out of the tent and out from under the animal, said Department of Game and Fish Officer John Martsh, who interviewed the Sufi student later in the day.

In a written statement, Almy said he tried to run away from the bear, but then remembered what he had learned on a “cougar poster” he read while visiting a campground in the Cibola National Forest.

“I picked up a branch and some stones and threw them at the bear” Almy said. “The bear ran away, but stayed at some distance. I went back to my tent, but the bear was still close so I threw another rock.”

The camper told Martsh the Sufi students were storing food in a cement or block building with no door on it.

“It sounds like there’s quite a bit of trash there, also, and other things that would be interesting to bears,” Martsh said.

Conservation officer Darrel Cole said Game and Fish receives bear calls every year from the Sufi Foundation, an organization whose Web site says Sufi “develops higher intelligence and awareness.”

Earlier this year, the Department joined forces with Animal Protection of New Mexico, the U.S. Forest Service, Santa Fe County Open Space, and New Mexico State Parks Division to distribute “Cougar Smart” posters at trailheads from the Manzanos to the Carson National Forest.

The bear was described as playful and curious rather than aggressive, and a live trap was set at the Sufi Foundation.

Hikers and campers encountering bears and cougars should stand their ground and not run, keep pets leashed and children close, and fight back if attacked. This is the second incident this year when fighting back terminated a bear attack.

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