Bears Wander Into Motels in New Mexico

Bears Wander Into Motels in New Mexico
By The Associated Press
Thu Jul 21,10:10 PM ET



Maybe it's an early hibernation thing. A bear wandered into a Raton motel on Monday and a second bear broke into a Taos Ski Valley motel a day later. The bear that walked through the front doors of the Raton motel possibly was lured by the enticing smell of fresh popcorn, officials said.

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"He walked in, went to the pay phones, then straight toward the pool," said desk clerk Kimbra Pacheco.

Lodgers with newspapers chased the bear through an enclosed pool area until game officers arrived. A Department of Game and Fish officer shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart.

Department officers later killed the bear, saying it had been trapped and moved from Raton a few weeks earlier and had lost its fear of humans.

The second bear forced its way through a window screen Tuesday at a Taos Ski Valley motel. The desk clerk called 911, but the bear fled before the town marshal and game officers arrived.

Officers have set a trap to try to capture the animal, which officials believe was attracted by the smell of food being cooked by lodgers on a grill outside their room.

The recent hot, dry weather in northern New Mexico may have forced some bears to search for food in different places, the department said.

The agency said people who live in bear country should keep anything that would attract them away from living areas and keep all doors and windows closed at night.

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Game and Fish publications: http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us