Another bear in the metro – bear captured Sunday in Rio Rancho
“Oh my gosh, I was scared,” said Anna Moya. “I was shaking so bad that I couldn’t think straight. I just got so scared. I’ve never been that close to a bear in my life.”
RIO RANCHO, N.M. —
Bear sightings have been on the rise in New Mexico this summer. Sunday was no exception.
The New Mexico Department of Wildlife, along with Rio Rancho Police, captured a brown bear Sunday in a neighborhood near Jane Circle SE and Golf Course Road SE.
Anna Moya lives in the neighborhood and got a close-up view of the bear. Maybe a little too close.
“Well, I was outside watering with my two little dogs and my little female, Tilly, attacked the bear. She went after him,” Moya said. “He (the bear) came after her, and I was still screaming at him and he ran up the tree, I think, because I grabbed my dog and made her come inside.”
The bear did run up a tree in Moya’s backyard. Rio Rancho police officers soon arrived at her home, along with the New Mexico Department of Wildlife. The bear was tranquilized and was safely removed from Moya’s property.
“Oh my gosh, I was scared,” Moya said. “I was shaking so bad that I couldn’t think straight. I just got so scared. I’ve never been that close to a bear in my life.”
The New Mexico Department of Wildlife reminds homeowners to keep their neighborhood safe and remove food and water sources from their yards and surrounding areas.