Bear safely taken from Rio Rancho tree

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) - A 200-pound black bear is being relocated to the Zuni Mountains after he wandered into Rio Rancho early Tuesday.

The bear, who officials estimate is probably about 2 years old, was found in the neighborhood near Lisbon Avenue and Tulip Road, which is several blocks west of Unser Boulevard and several blocks south of Northern Boulevard.

He was chased up a tree on the 100 block of 19th Street a few blocks away around 7:30 a.m.

A dozen Rio Rancho police officers, firefighters and New Mexico Game and Fish officers surrounded the tree.

A Game and Fish officer used a fire truck's ladder to get close enough to the bear to tranquilize him. The bear tumbled onto an air mattress on the ground and taken to the mountains.

Game and Fish officials said residents should not feed bears and to call police immediately when they see a bear.