New Mexico wildlife managers have killed more black bears this year than any full year on record, wildlife officials told state lawmakers on Wednesday, as hot temperatures and drought conditions force bears into human-populated areas in search of food.
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Since April, game officers or citizens reported killing 307 black bears that posed threats to public safety. An additional 51 bears were listed as “roadkill” or “other kills.”
“It has been a particularly rough year for bears,” Michael Sloan, director of the New Mexico Department of Wildlife, told legislators on the interim Legislative Water and Resources Committee on Wednesday. Most bears were killed in a state wildlife zone that spans through Santa Fe, Taos, Rio Arriba and Los Alamos counties. In Crystal, a community in Navajo Nation, a black bear attacked and killed a man on Aug. 20. The Navajo Police Department responded to the incident and killed the bear.
Black bears’ natural habitat and food sources have degraded, Sloan explained, due to severe drought conditions, which has led the animals to search for food over longer distances and to enter human-populated areas.
“Bears don’t want to come into these neighborhoods. They don’t want to have this conflict,” Jesse Deubel, executive director of the nonprofit New Mexico Wildlife Federation, told lawmakers. “But when a population of an animal, particularly a large alpha predator like a black bear, exceeds the carrying capacity of the habitat — it doesn’t really have a choice.”
NMDOW aims to leave black bears alone, Sloan explained, and the agency only chooses euthanasia when bears become a hazard to public safety. NMDOW’s goals also include educating the public on bear awareness and how to dispose of potential bear food sources so the animal moves on.
State Rep. Kristina Ortez (D-Taos) said during the discussion the issue is “frightening a lot of folks” and many of her constituents, after seeing bear sightings on social media, asked what they should do if they encounter a bear.
Sloan explained the best course of action in bear encounters is to leave them alone. If food attracts the bear to stay there, he added, a person should call the agency so a game warden can haze, relocate, or euthanize the bear if the animal causes a threat.
Sen. Roberto Gonzales (D-Taos) expressed concern about how the food shortage affects the bear hibernation process.
“If a bear goes into hibernation with not enough fat stores, unfortunately, they may not make it out the following spring,” Sloan said.
