A young bear sighted near speeding traffic on Interstate 25 on Monday morning stopped traffic on the highway for about half an hour, police said.

The black bear — estimated to be about 18 months old — was first reported to police about 7 a.m. near the interstate's intersection with N.M. 599, said Lt. Eric Garcia, state police spokesman. When officers went out to check the report, they found the bear near the side of the road and called the state Game and Fish Department, he said.

Officers also shut down the northbound lanes from about 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., he said, while a Game and Fish officer retrieved the bear. Some southbound traffic was diverted, while other motorists were allowed through when conditions merited, he said.

Marty Frentzel, New Mexico Game and Fish Department spokesman, said that by the time he arrived, the bear was resting beneath a bridge under the southbound lanes of the interstate. He watched it until another officer arrived with a tranquilizer gun.

However, just then, the bear decided to bolt toward the state penitentiary, Frentzel said. They pursued the bear and were able to shoot it with a medicated dart on Carlson Road, he said.

He described the male bear as a "yearling," who weighed approximately 80 pounds and had likely been recently chased off by its mother, he said. The bear was taken to the Marquez Wildlife Management Area near Grants, he said.