July 9 (UPI) — A bear being temporarily housed at a New Mexico zoo escaped from its habitat, but was recaptured safely after she climbed to the top of her enclosure.
The city of Roswell said Winnie, a female black bear being temporarily housed at the Spring River Zoo while the bear enclosure at the Alameda Park Zoo in Alamogordo undergoes repairs, found a small hole in the chain-link fence at the rear of the enclosure and ripped it open large enough to fit through.
A city spokesman said Winnie did not wander from the area.
“She just climbed up to the top of the enclosure. She was just sitting on top and she didn’t get any further,” spokesman Todd Wildermuth told the Roswell Daily Record.
Wildermuth said officers from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish tranquilized Winnie and workers returned the bear to her enclosure. He said a veterinarian examined the animal and determined it was not injured.
“The zoo is taking some steps now to shore up and reinforce the enclosure so that we don’t have that type of thing happen again,” Wildermuth said.