A heartbreaking tragedy has sparked outrage in New Mexico after a black bear was electrocuted while stranded atop a high-voltage utility pole, despite multiple emergency calls from concerned witnesses seeking help.
A heartbreaking tragedy has sparked outrage in New Mexico after a black bear was electrocuted while stranded atop a high-voltage utility pole, despite multiple emergency calls from concerned witnesses seeking help. The incident unfolded on Monday (July 20) along a remote highway, where stunned motorists spotted the bear trapped nearly 22 feet above the ground on an electric pole carrying 7,200-volt power lines. Viral footage showed the exhausted animal clinging to the pole and panting heavily as it struggled to survive.
Shannon Mullens, who was travelling with her family, first noticed the distressed bear while her fiancé alerted emergency services. Another passerby, Robin Dawson, also contacted authorities and was informed that the matter would be referred to New Mexico Fish and Wildlife.
“The bear was at the top of a high-voltage power pole that was charged," Dawson said, as per USA Today. “You could tell the bear was alive but in distress. You could hear it panting from across the road.”
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Dawson remained at the scene for more than 30 minutes, hoping rescuers would arrive. However, after calling 911 a second time, he was reportedly told that no one would respond and that the bear would climb down when it was ready.
Tragically, help came too late.
By the time a utility crew and a Union County sheriff's deputy reached the scene, the bear had been electrocuted. Sheriff Curtis Skaggs later confirmed that the animal's body was found on the ground beneath the pole.
Explaining the response, the New Mexico Department of Wildlife said, “The reporting party was instructed to leave the bear alone so it could come down on its own and local dispatch was asked to instruct concerned citizens to leave the bear alone; however, some members of the public continued to stop next to the power pole to film and take pictures of the bear, so the bear remained at the top of the pole.”
New Mexico is home to black bears that can range in colour from black and brown to reddish, blonde and the state's most common cinnamon shade. While they typically inhabit densely forested mountain regions, younger bears often wander beyond their usual territory in search of new habitats, sometimes venturing into dangerous human environments with fatal consequences.
