Los Alamos County urges residents to haze bears safely
Los Alamos County said bears drawn by trash and bird feeders should be hazed only when they are in the wrong place, not when they are fleeing or climbing.
Los Alamos County tells residents to haze a bear only when it is somewhere it should not be, such as feeding on garbage, bird seed or pet food, or lingering near a vehicle, building, chicken coop or garden. The county’s June 22 guidance says do not haze a bear if that push would send it toward people, dogs, a busy road or another unsafe spot, and do not chase a bear that is already running away, in a tree, or a cub that could trigger a defensive response from its mother.
To drive the animal off, make eye contact, wave your arms to look larger, shout, clap, bang pots, blow a whistle or air horn, or use a car horn. If a bear approaches, do not run and use bear spray. Children and dogs should be brought inside, the bear should be given an escape route, and hazing should stop once it runs or climbs a tree. Firearms are not part of the county’s response plan.
In April 2026, the county warned that black bears were becoming more active as spring returned and natural food sources thinned, sending animals into neighborhoods, commercial areas, parks and trails. Officials pointed to unsecured trash, pet food, bird feeders, open dumpsters and open garages or patio doors as the kinds of attractants that turn a passing bear into a repeat visitor. The county also offers bear-resistant roll carts and asks residents who do not have one to request it.
State wildlife officials warn that spring is when bears emerge hungry, and human food can habituate them and create public-safety risks. That risk has been visible in Los Alamos before. In June 2020, New Mexico Game and Fish relocated a sow with three cubs after the bears raided neighborhood dumpsters. In December 2024, county officials logged 91 animal-vehicle accident calls from January through November, up from 64 in 2023, along with 42 predator calls, up from 8 the year before, and 13 calls involving an immediate threat to human safety that ended in euthanized animals.
In December 2024, the Los Alamos County Council moved to draft an ordinance banning wildlife feeding after at least 12 active feeding locations were operating in town. The county proclaimed August 2025 as Bear Month in Los Alamos.
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