‘Professional bear huggers’ wanted in New Mexico

Bear lovers rejoice. The New Mexico Game and Fish Department is hiring for “professional bear huggers.”

The department has published a list of adorable jobs Monday on Facebookfeaturing treasured photos of conservation officers cuddling teddy bears.

Unfortunately, a love of bears isn’t the only qualification you’ll need to become a conservation officer. Job list The official job title states that candidates must have a bachelor’s degree in “biological sciences, police science or law enforcement, natural resource conservation, ecology, or related fields.”

Interested applicants “must have the ability to hike in difficult conditions, have the courage to crawl into a bear den, and trust your colleagues to keep you safe during the process,” the department wrote.

The photos are from a research project in Northern New Mexico, according to a Facebook post. They added that “crawling into bear dens is not recommended” and “all bears were handled safely under supervision.”

“Not all law enforcement field jobs are this glamorous, but we’d love for you to join a team where you can gain the experience of a lifetime,” the department added.

Applications for the next class of environmental officer trainees are open until March 30, the release said.

Job duties include much more than just bear hugging, according to the job listing. Each conservation officer is responsible for “enforcing game and fish laws” as well as “educating the public about wildlife and wildlife management, conducting wildlife surveys, trapping ‘problem animals’, investigating wildlife damage to crops and property , helps with wildlife transport and helps. develop new regulations.”

Black bears are the state animal of New Mexico. The population is estimated at about 6,000 bears. according to a release from the New Mexico Game and Fish Department.