Black bears killed on I-25 were out of food and looking for water

In 2023 there was black bear scat at the horse water tank and the trail cam didn't catch its maker but an interested party did see one at the top of Morning Sun Road about two years ago. A beekeeper in Cerrillos shot one after it broke into his honey operation and our backhoe operator saw one out here between Baja Waldo and Red Rock Roads. 

At least a dozen have been seen in suburban Albuquerque and hikers have been alerted to bear activity near water sources in Santa Fe. Our excessively dry year means there is little for them to eat even in the mountains so as they move into human spaces they've become at risk to collisions with vehicles just a few miles from where this is being typed.

Two adult black bears and two cubs were found dead Wednesday morning along Interstate 25 about five miles south of Santa Fe on Alamo Creek. A New Mexico Department of Wildlife conservation officer was dispatched to a site between La Cienega and La Bajada following a report to New Mexico State Police about the dead bears. The Los Alamos-based newsletter Boomtown documented 72 calls to county officials reporting nuisance bears in the first six months of 2026 before reporting bear break-ins earlier this month. [Santa Fe New Mexican]