Black is Back T

HE BLACK BEAR IS BACK in

Texas.

While their populations are a long way from huntable, numbers in the Trans Pecos are such that sightings are common in the Big Bend area and at places like Black Gap Wildlife Management Area.

Bears have also been seen fairly frequently around Lake Falcon and there are sca ered sightings throughout South Texas and the southwestern portion of the Edwards Plateau.

Add to that some bear activity in Northeast Texas and you have the greatest chance in modern history for Texans to encounter a bear in their home state.

Black bears are generally shy, reclusive creatures but there comes a point when populations grow when that can change.

Again, there is no hunting pressure in Texas and neither in Mexico so there is no reason to fear people. In these situations, they may begin approaching human habitations and dry conditions like west Texas is facing now will amplify the issue.

My concern is Texans are not bear aware.

To most encountering bears is something that might happen once-in-a-lifetime when they visit Yellowstone or in the Smoky Mountains.

And these Texas bears are not just in the Trans Pecos.

For more than a decade I have recorded sightings in the Hill Country, South Texas, and along the Middle Coast. e East Texas bear population is a di erent issue, but there are increasing sightings in the eastern third of the state as well.

Texans need to understand a few things

“Bears have an excellent sense of smell and much of their behavior is driven by their appetite. ese natural characteristics can, however, become a problem when bears nd an easy meal from a human-related source such as garbage, pet food or corn from a deer feeder. If over time a bear continually nds food around humans, it can become habituated, losing its fear of people and creating a potentially dangerous situation.”

Fellow hunters, we are now in the o -season. If you have a bear hi ing a feeder, a good option is to shut it down and let the bear move on. Feeding in an area might keep the bear around and give you problems with your feeder (they’ll tear it up) or maybe an unwanted up close and personal encounter.

Another option is electricity.

“Bears are sensitive to electricity, so electric fences can be used to prevent bears from accessing feeders while still allowing deer to reach them because of their ability to jump the fence. Although an added cost, electric fencing can pay for itself in the prevention of lost feed and damage to a feeder.”

TPWD biologists say education is the best way to prevent human-bear con icts

“Residents in areas where bears have been spo ed should secure anything that could be a potential a ractant (e.g., garbage, pet food, bird and deer feeders, etc.). Residents can also choose to invest in bear proof garbage dumpsters, a resource that many communities in the western U.S. have deployed to reduce or prevent bear encounters. Double-bagging garbage to reduce odors and keeping bags in a secure location until the morning of trash pickup are also encouraged practices. Similarly, TPWD biologists recommend feeding pets inside or limiting pet food portions to an amount that can be consumed completely at each feeding.” e study, published in e Journal of Wildlife Management, documents 63 people killed in 59 incidents by non-captive black bears between 1900-2009.

Black bears are potentially dangerous animals. And while they are not likely to a ack, their ferocity upon a ack can be fatal.

In a story in the March/April 2020 edition of Sports A eld, I outlined a surprising study on black bear a ack behavior.

Here is the standout quote.

“We judged that the bear involved acted as a predator in 88 percent of fatal incidents. Adult or subadult male bears were involved in 92 percent of fatal predatory incidents, re ecting biological and behavioral di erences between male and female bears. at most fatal black bear a acks were predatory and were carried out by one bear shows that females with young are not the most dangerous black bears.” ere are a couple of things that should jump out at outdoor lovers here.

1. If you are a acked by a black bear, you must ght back. While many grizzly a acks are territorial or perhaps because the grizzly didn’t like the way you looked that day, most black bear a acks are predatory and nearly all of the fatal ones are. Play dead for grizzlies. Fight like crazy against a black bear.

2. Big male bears are the biggest threat. If you see one in an area or have game camera photos of one, take extra precautions.

Black bears are protected in Texas, so hunters should keep that in mind and especially when hunting hogs in areas with bear sightings at night. A bear could easily look like a hog hitting a bait pile especially if you are using night vision or thermal imaging.

Black bears returning to Texas is exciting, but everyone needs to stay informed. I will continue coverage here as the great American bear returns to the Lone Star State and shows up in places where few expect to see them.

It’s an exciting thing to see and a testament to the North American Model of Wildlife Management.

I’m happy to see it and have been advocating for bear conservation in Texas for a long time. We do however need to go into this new era of the Texas wild with open eyes.

Bears can be bears and if we treat them as such both people and these great animals will bene t.