Border crisis gets strange when bear climbs utility pole near Arizona/Mexico border
U.S. Border Patrol responded to a very different type of crisis Sunday near the Arizona/Mexico border.
A 200-pound black bear decided to take refuge atop a utility pole along U.S. 191 on the edge of Douglas. That’s about 120 miles southeast of Tuscon, on the Mexico border.
Arizona Game and Fish Department noted the bear was at risk of being electrocuted, and the animal kept adding to the danger by continuing to adjust itself atop the live wires, photos showed.
The highway was closed briefly as the Douglas Police Department, Cochise County Sheriff’s Office and state wildlife officers joined border patrol agents in trying to coax the bear down. Utility company staff also stood by, in case the bear electrocuted itself and shut down the power, officials said.
It came down, only to climb a second nearby pole, officials said.
“The bear scattered a crowd of two dozen onlookers when it climbed down from the first pole,” state wildlife officials said.
“Patrol vehicles were used to haze it westward after it climbed down from the second. The bear is presumed to have been spooked up the first when vehicle and pedestrian traffic increased at daybreak. ... Tracks indicate it may have headed in from the Mule Mountains.”
The bear left unharmed and the highway was reopened, WLTX reported.
It was one of two bear incidents reported in the region over the weekend. In the second case, a 300-pound male bear was struck by a vehicle and killed between the towns of Sonoita and Patagonia, officials said.
Black bears grow to about 400 pounds in Arizona and can be more than 6 feet long, the state reports.
Social media users appeared to be unified in their support for the bear, including some who noted it may have been a mom trying to escape “crazy kids” on Mother’s Day. “I can relate,” one woman tweeted.
“Not gonna lie, that bear looks like it just wants a few freakin’ moments of time, lemme alone,” another man said.
State wildlife officials reported last week that bears are starting to emerge from their winter slumber and sightings are up across the state.
“Bears may be emerging from the winter dens late this year, because sustained temperatures above 40 degrees (Fahrenheit) at elevations 5,000 and above were lacking. Bears are hungry after there winter torpor,” the state posted on Facebook.
Part of US Hwy 191 was briefly closed Sun. am while AZGFD Tucson, Douglas PD, Cochise SO and US Border Patrol drove off a bear that had climbed two utility poles. Two dozen onlookers scattered when the bear climbed down on its own. AZPS stood by, as the bear risked electrocution. pic.twitter.com/RkL2W197Cw
— AZ Game & Fish Dept (@azgfdTucson) May 9, 2021
