New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Media contact: Lance Cherry, (505) 476-8003
Public contact: (888) 248-6866
lance.cherry@state.nm.us
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, AUG 22, 2014
BEAR AND CUB CAPTURED NEAR DOWNTOWN SANTA FE
SANTA FE – Conservation officers captured a bear and her cub Friday morning about a half-mile from the State Capitol near downtown Santa Fe.
The healthy bear and her cub were not harmed during the capture and were on their way to be released in the Gila National Forest in southern New Mexico later Friday.
It was the third time officers captured and relocated the female bear and cub. This spring, the bear had two cubs when they were captured near downtown Santa Fe and relocated to the Jemez Mountains. In July, the same female and one cub were captured in San Isidro and relocated to the Cibola National Forest near Mount Taylor, approximately 100 miles from where they were captured Friday.
The bear and cub were relocated again because a cub was involved and officers did not consider the bear and cub to be a public safety threat. The Gila National Forest offers a healthy habitat for wildlife and an abundance of food and forage for bears.
For more information about black bears in New Mexico, please visit the Department of Game and Fish website, www.wildlife.state.nm.us.
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