After multiple bear sightings in Albuquerque, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish captured a mother bear and her cub in the city’s northwest area and plans to release them into suitable habitat.
Video shared on social media showed the bears roaming a neighborhood, eating apples and drinking from a backyard swimming pool before wildlife officers captured them and reunited them.
Tsigabu Seyoum said a bear entered his backyard Sunday while he was out of town. A neighbor sent him a video showing one of the bears climbing into his yard and drinking from his pool. The footage quickly circulated on social media.
Rachel Mysza said she was in her garage when a neighbor warned her that a bear was approaching her home.
“I heard some commotion and people freaking out,” Mysza said. “My neighbor rang the doorbell and told me a bear had just come up to my door.”
She said she immediately opened the dog door to let her pets inside, and everyone stayed indoors until the bear moved on.
Wildlife officials responded after receiving reports of the bears. They tranquilized the mother bear Sunday but were initially unable to locate the cub.
The cub was found and captured later Sunday night, allowing wildlife officers to reunite it with its mother.
Officials said the bears will be released in an area with adequate moisture and natural food sources. They expect monsoon rains to improve conditions in the mountains, providing more food and water and reducing the likelihood of bears wandering into residential neighborhoods.
The Albuquerque encounter is the latest of several bear sightings in New Mexico. In Clayton, a bear was electrocuted after climbing a utility pole, while another was seen roaming neighborhoods near the Rio Grande.
