"This place is jampacked with bears, and there's just not enough room for them all," he said.

More than 30 bears have been killed statewide since April 1, according to a Game and Fish news release, and they've handled more than 150 complaints, and a bear cub was recently captured near NAPA Auto Parts in Edgewood.

Ahlm's theory about why there have been so many bear encounters goes back two years ago. He said that summer there were enough crops to keep most of that year's new cubs alive. This year, many of those young bears are striking out on their own, and it's the youths that typically get into trouble.

"They're all young bears that we're dealing with, almost universally," he said.

The older bears stake out territory based on foraging habits, he said. In a year in which there are plenty of resources in the mountains, each bear's territory shrinks, and it makes things easier for the cubs. When those resources dwindle, as they seem to have this year, the older bears' territories expand and there's less room on the mountain.

That's when juveniles tend to run afoul of humans.

But three incidents on July 21 — each of which resulted in a bear dying — involved older bears.

Two bears were shot and killed by people in and around the East Mountains. One of those bears, weighing more than 200 pounds, was killed by a resident in Cedar Crest. The other was shot by a homeowner when it attacked a llama near Placitas, according to a Game and Fish news release.

A third male bear, about 300 pounds, was caught in Cedar Crest the same night. It died while officials were transporting him to the Zuni Mountains. It could be that the bear's airway was blocked and it suffocated, Ahlm said.

"It died in custody, which is kind of a sad deal," he said. "It's rare that we have that kind of thing happen."

Ahlm said he thinks long and hard before putting down a bear. While aggressive bears are generally put down, not all encounters between humans and bears are a death sentence for a bear.

A recent example happened in the Manzanos, where a bear was investigating the smell of mint gum in a camper's tent — no one was hurt and the bear lived to see another day.

Even though it scratched the camper, if the bear demonstrates a healthy fear of humans it may still not be put down, Ahlm said.

Officials say bears are attracted to the smells in and around houses.

One of the animal's main natural food sources, acorns, won't be ripe until the middle or end of August, according to Marty Frentzel, a spokesman for the Department of Game and Fish.

If you encounter a bear

Make a lot of noise. Bears don't have very good eyesight, and making noise can catch them off guard.

Never run away from a bear, because it will chase you. Instead, make yourself appear large by putting your jacket over your head.

Don't be afraid to fight back. People who have fought off bears this year are proving that fighting back does work.