Top 6 New Mexico Spots To See A Wild Bear – Las Cruces, Notsomuch

Throughout most of New Mexico, you can pretty much mark yourself safe from bear encounters. There are many places though where you wanna keep your eyes open.

A-Z Animals just released a list of the top 6 spots in the Land of Enchantment where you're most likely to run into a wild bear.

Black bears (Ursus americanus) are the only bears you’ll find in New Mexico after the last grizzly bear was killed nearly a century ago. Spotting a black bear in its natural habitat is less common than you’d think, but a once-in-a-lifetime encounter is possible in the wilderness. - A-Z Animals

Bears are most active in New Mexico from mid-April to mid-November. The rest of the year, they hibernate but, even then, some may wake up and come out looking for a snack.

A-Z Animals listed these areas as the places in New Mexico where you are most likely to run into a wild oso. (The lobby at Angel Fire didn't make the list but check out the pic above.)

• Red River
• Sandia Mountains
• Manzano Mountains
• Valles Caldera National Preserve
• Albuquerque (Maybe not downtown but around the edges.)
• Raton

If you run into a bear in the wild, experts say you shouldn't run, it triggers their chase instinct, or climb a tree. They can climb too and they do it pretty fast. They don't play around either as this video shows. (Careful, it's a little graphic ...)

If you see a female with cubs, do NOT get anywhere near junior. That's a major no-no ... those stories you hear about how aggressive Mama bears can be are totally true.

For more safety tips, click here.