Mother bear killed after she and her cub fed on pet food, Texas officials say

A mother bear was killed after she and her cub didn’t leave a Texas city despite efforts by wildlife officers to relocate them, officials say.

The black bear and her cub were spotted last week within the city limits of Del Rio, a town along the Mexico border, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

The agency attempted to “haze” the bears, which can include loud noises or shooting non-lethal flash rounds, paintballs or rubber buckshot bullets. Trapping and removing the bears would have been the next step, officials said.

Texas Parks and Wildlife suspects that pet food left out by residents to feed stray cats had attracted the bears to the city.

“Our bear hazing protocols provide the best chance for the bear to live wild and relocate itself naturally,” Jonah Evans, a mammologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife, said in a news release. “Trapping and relocating a bear is extremely invasive and puts a lot of stress on the animal, sometimes resulting in mortality, and there’s no promise then that relocation will be successful.”

A Del Rio resident shot and killed the sow before the bears were relocated. Texas game wardens are investigating.

The cub was relocated to a wildlife rehabilitation center in New Mexico, officials say.

In Texas, black bears are a protected species. They’re most common in West Texas, though some bears have been spotted in other parts of the state.

Last week, a black bear was spotted eating pecans that had fallen on the rooftop of a home in Sanderson, officials say.

“Bears, in most instances, are not a danger to people,” Evans said. “In 120 years in the lower 48 states, there have been fewer than 20 fatal attacks by bears. Compare that to 20 fatal attacks yearly by domestic dogs. Other cities throughout the country have found ways to peacefully live with area bear populations, and we can do the same in Texas.”

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