Black Bear Sighting in the La Perla Neighborhood

It's a first in recent history for Zapata County. A male black bear was spotted on May 7th.  It was likely in search of new land from Mexico, says a state wildlife expert.

On Thursday night, residents of SpinTech - Myers Ranch caught a strange image on a game camera. Maybe it was an overgrown wild hog. Maybe something else.

Their doubts were gone the next day when they spotted and recorded the black bear near a fence line.

"Well, I was shocked," said Dr. Gary Schwarz, a McAllen oral surgeon who owns La Perla Ranch, where the bear was also seen. Schwarz said he's been working to maintain the native habitat for 15 years. He sold some of his original 15,000 acres, but maintained subdivision-like rules as part of the sales to promote habitat land management practices.

"Right now, with the bear the way it is, it's perfect," said Eric Garza, wildlife biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "It's acting like a normal wild bear would in the woods."

From the video, Garza said the bear is between one and two years old, and likely a male that's dispersing from its home population in Mexico.      - KRGVTV Channel 5 News