Sandia nuisance bears complaints down

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Officials say complaints about nuisance bears in the Sandia Mountains are down considerably from last year.

The Albuquerque Journal reports (https://goo.gl/EwxhKG) that officials attribute the decreased reports to a reduction in the number of bears in the Sandias, and to an abundance of natural bear food there.

Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 5, 2013, the department handled 46 such complaints about Sandia bears.

As of Aug. 5 this year, they had handled only five such complaints. Official say none of those cases required relocating or euthanizing a bear.

Rick Winslow, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish’s bear and cougar biologist, says the persistent drought and a resulting decline in natural bear food played havoc with Sandia bears last year.

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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, https://www.abqjournal.com