MEXICO CITY (AP) — A photograph showing firefighters and civil defense personnel holding down a young, bound bear spread-eagled and pulling its ears has sparked outrage in Mexico and brought down fines Friday on those involved.

Black bears are bouncing back in Mexico after being hunted to near-extinction 40 years ago. And after two years of drought, forest fires and hot weather are causing larger numbers to wander into populated areas, where they face traditions of brutal bear capture and baiting left over from the old days.