Bear Killed In New Mexico After Attacking Marathon Runner

On Monday, New Mexico game wardens tracked down and killed a black mother bear that had attacked a marathon runner this Saturday in the Valles Caldera National Preserve.

Bear Killed In New Mexico After Attacking Marathon Runner

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish says the woman was racing Saturday afternoon through the 21-km-wide dormant volcano when a female black bear confronted her in the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Officers say the victim surprised the bear after her cub had run up a nearby tree.

“It was absolutely a chance encounter,” said Lance Cherry, a spokesman for the Department.

Other runners helped the woman, who has not been publicly identified, until emergency crews arrived. She was then flown by helicopter to an Albuquerque hospital, where she was treated for injuries not considered life-threatening and she has since been discharged, Cherry added.

Cherry said Game and Fish officials were able to track down and euthanize the mother bear because it was wearing a satellite tracking device as part of a larger bear study. The three cubs were still at large.

If the cubs are trapped, they will be taken to a local wildlife rehabilitation center, Cherry said, adding, “We want to give them the best chance for survival possible.”

Cherry also said New Mexico state law requires that game officials kill any wildlife that bites a human because the animal has to be destroyed in order to be tested for rabies.

Brittney Van Der Werff, a spokeswoman for the Valles Caldera, said fewer than 100 runners were competing in Saturday’s marathon.

Cherry stated that although the circumstances in this particular attack were unique, there have been four bear attacks on humans in New Mexico in the last year.

PHOTO: BROOKFIELD, IL – JULY 18: A grizzly bear gets a treat of fruit served on a block of ice to help him stay cool in his enclosure at Brookfield Zoo on July 18, 2013 in Brookfield, Illinois. A heat wave continues to grip much of the country today with temperatures expected to top 90 degrees in 47 states. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)