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Mexican first-responders fined for abusing young bear

USATODAY

Firefighters and civil defense officials posed with the young female bear that residents captured earlier this week outside Zaragoza, Coahuila, about 30 miles southwest of Eagle Pass, Texas. The bear's mouth and paws were injured. She was released Friday afternoon.

Firefighters, civil defense officials posed for photo with bear tied spread eagle, its ears pulled
Photos sparked a nationwide outcry and a petition calling for 'exemplary punishment'
Bear was captured across border from Eagle City, Texas, and released Friday afternoon

Mexican authorities have fined a volunteer fire department and civil defense office after first-responders photographed themselves with a captured young black bear that was tied spread-eagle with its ears being pulled, the Associated Press reports.

Photos, which were posted to unspecified social media, sparked an outcry across Mexico, AP says.

"This is outrageous," Environment Secretary Juan Elvira Quesada said. "We are going to go after these people with all the force of the law."

The fire department and the civil defense office each was fined the equivalent of $1,170.

Residents captured the 3½-year-old female bear earlier this week outside Zaragoza, Coahuila state, about 30 miles southwest of Eagle Pass, Texas. They then turned her over to their local authorities.

The bear is recovering from wounds to its mouth and paws but otherwise is in good condition. Officials plan to release her in a day or two.

Drought, hot weather and wildfires have pushed the bears into human habitats in search of food. As AP points out, their numbers have increased since being hunted to near-extinction 40 years ago.

Unfortunately, a wildlife inspector said, mistreatment of bears is common in Mexico. AP writes that "they face traditions of brutal bear capture and baiting left over from the old days."

Mexican black bears have also returned to the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park, Texas, and one was spotted in August along the Starr-Zapata county line.

Earlier this year, wildlife biologists released a study showing that a border fence was preventing black bears from migrating between Arizona and Mexico.

Update at 8:17 p.m. ET: McClatchy Newspapers' Mexico bureau chief reports that officials announced that the bear was released into the wild this afternoon. Five of the public workers may face possible criminal charges.

He also writes that the town's civil defense chief told a radio station the law only forbids killing a bear, not abusing one.

More than 26,000 people have signed a petition calling for the first-responders to face "exemplary punishment."

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