Officials urge caution as bears come to forage
N.M. Game and Fish reports increase in recent sightings
Bear sightings are on the rise, which a New Mexico Game and Fish Department spokesman says is normal for this time of year as the hungry creatures come near or into city limits to forage for food while some of their normal mountain fare, such as acorns and fruits, is not yet ripe.
Dan Williams, the spokesman, said black bears in late summer try to ingest 10,000 calories a day to get them through winter hibernation.
Williams said a report of a black bear wandering around residential areas Wednesday north of Santa Fe, near Tano Road and U.S. 84/285, was one of two dozen sightings of black bears around Santa Fe in August, up from 10 reports taken by the agency in July.
The 40 percent month-to-month increase in black bear reports taken by Game and Fish agents is typical for this point in the season.
“They’ll move back into the mountains as the food gets better for them,” Williams said.
While black bears, with sharp claws and teeth, can be dangerous, they typically are not aggressive. Williams said the best advice is to leave them alone and remove food sources. If a safety issue arises, he said, call police or the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
Among the August reports of human interaction with bears was an Aug. 10 incident in which game officers had to tranquilize a bear caught in a tree and relocate it to the Jemez Mountains, Williams said. Also in early August, he said, officers had to remove the body of a dead black bear from a median on Interstate 25.
“It’s not really a bear problem; it’s a people problem,” Williams said of human interactions with black bears in the Santa Fe area. “People have to learn to live with the wildlife and learn what not to do.”