Bear Killed In South Laredo
By
KGNS News
Story Created:
Aug 28, 2012 at 5:46 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Aug 28, 2012
It's not uncommon for Laredo to have UFO sightings or even sightings of Chupacabras, but what was seen Monday night is something many people have never seen, a bear.
"Just a few years ago they were reporting more of them were coming in East Texas from Arkasas and Louisiana and along the border."
Tom Miller, Director of the Lamar Bruni Environmental Center at Laredo Community College, says we may expect to see more of these bears. We're told the bear, weighing roughly 150 pounds was killed after being struck by a vehicle on Zapata highway close to LCC south campus around 10 o'clock Monday night.
"In that area towards Zapata county border there was rumors of a female with cubs back in that time. Maybe this bear has been living there all this time."
Miller says this is the last black bear to be found in Webb County and that was back in 2002.
The bear on display at the environmental center is said to have come from the mountains in Mexico. Miller adds that with the drought we've experienced in the last couple of years, young male cubs are looking for new territory. And even though bears have thick fur covering their bodies, Miller says the Texas heat does not deter them from migrating here.
"They were basically everywhere in Texas when Texas was being settled so they can adapt and they would fit right in."
The bear being kept as a pet is something miller says shouldn't be ruled out.
"There are a lot of wildlife kept as pets. We did have an offer of one a while ago and it was kind of surprising. Maybe the bears that have wandered have been pets that have been intentionally let go or have escaped."
