In the 19th and into the early 20th Century, Arkansas was known as the "BEAR STATE" due to it's thick density of Black Bears.....A great reveiw of the Wolves, Cougars and Black Bears(Ocelots too) that populated the region we call Arkansas(16th century up through present day) for your reference and review

Wolf, Black Bear, and Mountain Lion in Arkansas

Leah D.Lucio, David W. Clark, Susan P. Rakow, and Gary A.Heidt Corresponding Author: GAHEIDT@UALR.EDU

During the nineteenth century settlement of Arkansas, the red wolf (Canis rufos), black bear {Ursus americanus), and mountain lion [Puma concolor) were not only the three largest and most dangerous predators, they also stirred the imaginations of explorers and settlers. References to these species appeared prominently in the journals of early explorers such as George W. Featherstonhaugh (1844) and Frederick Gerstaecker (1854), and their presence inspired voluminous collections of stories and tall tales. Black bears were so common that a large trade developed in pelts, oil, and other body parts, and Arkansas became commonly known as "The Bear State." Wolves and mountain lions also were common and were despised for their suspected predation on livestock and their threat to human life. As a result, the General Assembly of the Arkansas Legislature enacted laws that provided bounties for killing these animals. The species were overexploited, and all three nearly were extirpated from the state by the 1920s- 1930s. A stable bear population has now been restored (due to a restoration program in the White River National Wildlife Refuge and re-stocking programs in the Interior Highlands undertaken by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission), the red wolf is considered extinct from the state, and the status of the mountain lion is uncertain.

"The chase in the United States is moreover rapidly on the decline; for the American hunter spares nothing, and for some time, particularly since the day when skins were first paid for in hard dollars, a war of extermination has been waged against the poor stags and bears; -so that the hunter who, some five years hence, shall visit these realms, will scarcely find his expectations of sport realized, unless he is prepared either to content himself with small game, or to penetrate to the Rocky Mountains and explore the territory of the Indians." -Frederick Gerstaecker, 1854

Arkansas' largest and best-known predators during historical times were the red wolf {Canis rufus), black bear {Ursus americanus); and mountain lion {Puma concolor). All three species occurred statewide. The ocelot {Felis pardalis) also was found in the extreme southwestern part of the state. In fact, the type locality was given as Arkansas when the ocelot was first described in 1855 (Hall, 1981). However, this species was extirpated very early and probably never occurred in large numbers. Whereas it’s possible that some early reports about wildcats really were reports about ocelots, it is doubtful that the ocelot was a major predator in the state (Sealander and Heidt, 1990).


Traveling through the territory was the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. In 1541, he and his men entered from the east (near Helena), moved to the Northeast, then back to Hot Springs. Historians believe that they probably traveled as far south as the Red River on their quest for gold. De Soto recorded the earliest written descriptions of the vast wilderness and abundant wildlife in the area, and his journals sparked the distinction Arkansas would later gain of being a "sportsman's paradise" (Lawrence, 1991). Later, in 1682, Louis XIV of France sent the French explorer Sieur de La Salle to claim all the land along the Mississippi River and named the region "Louisiana" in honor of the king. La Salle's lieutenant, Henri de Tonti, later founded Arkansas Post, which became the first permanent European settlement in the territory (Table 1). The French reigned until 1762 when the Treaty ofFontainbleau gave Spain control of much of the Louisiana. Before several detailed explorations were undertaken in first half of the 1800s, there were numerous transitory by early explorers (Table 1). The three major explorers whose journals provided the most details were Thomas Tall, George W. Featherstonhaugh, and Frederick Gerstaecker .American naturalist Thomas Nuttall accompanied several scientific expeditions to the Mississippi and Missouri valleys and in 1819, his travels brought him to the Arkansas Territory that he described as "one vast trackless wilderness of trees."


Nuttall was interested primarily in plants, geology, and the natives of the area; however, he commented on the predators he observed along the Arkansas River, noting, "Wildcats of two kinds, both striped and spotted as well as panthers, bears, and wolves (black and gray), are inconsiderable abundance in this country" and, "Panthers are said to be abundant in the woods of the Red River nor are they uncommon on the banks of the Arkansas"

English geologist George William Featherstonhaughwas one of the many travel-writers to visit the Arkansas Territory (Featherstonhaugh, 1844). In 1834, he traveled from Poplar Bluff, Missouri to the White River and then headed southwest, continuing toward the Little Red River and on to Little Rock. His explorations took him through the bottomlands of the Petite Mammelle River and Mammelle Mountain where he noted "gangs of savage wolves that range about by night.

"After leaving LittleRock, Featherstonhaugh encountered other travelers near the Saline River where they shared stories of large numbers of panthers, wolves, and bears that inhabited the area. The following example proved why so many of them feared the panther and other predators: "One unfortunate man ... had been attacked [by a panther] ... the man choked the beast, and retained strength enough to reach his home, where he died soon after."

One of the most prolific writers among the early travelers was the German explorer Frederick Gerstaecker. River. He took a trip into the Ozarks where he noted, "Although I heard the howls of several wolves, I did not mind them, but enjoyed a sound sleep. In order to avoid the bears and panthers, I had climbed up a tree. ...I heard the howling of wolves and once the roar of a panther in the distance" (Gerstaecker, 1854).

Depredation of livestock and fear of personal attack fostered perceptions held by early settlers concerning the threatening nature of large predators. Many settlers suffered heavy losses when their cattle, hogs, and colts fell prey to wolves and panthers. From 1816 to 1921 a series of legislative acts were formulated to encourage the killers of wolves and panthers, which ultimately played a significant role in their demise.

WOLVES
As settlements grew during the 1800s, the numbers of wolves decreased. By the turn of the century wolf populations had significantly diminished, particularly in eastern Arkansas. The decline of wolf populations continued during the first two decades of the past century. During the 1930s, coyotes apparently started expanding into the state and hybridization began to occur (Holder, 1951; Sealander and Heidt, 1990). Wolf populations, however, continued to exist in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas and in parts of the Gulf Coastal Plain. In the early 1940s, it was estimated that 40-100 wolves still were present in Sharp County. In Washington County, 32 were trapped in 1943 and 1944 During this same time period, 32 wolves were trapped in Miller and Little River counties, and 2 to 10 were trapped in other southwestern counties of the Gulf Coastal Plain. In the winter of 1942-43, nine wolves were trapped in Pulask County (Holder, 1951). In 1838 An Act to encourage the killing of wolves in the state of Arkansas. Act included: 1. Bounty of $3.00 from county for wolf scalp .Wildcat and panther scalps $5.00 ....In 1915, wolf scalps yielded $8.00 and panthers $10.00.


MOUNTAIN LIONS
During the early history of Arkansas, the mountain lion or panther was found statewide, but was probably more numerous in the remote upland regions of the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains. The panther was the terror of settlers, and many stories, probably exaggerated, were told of harrowing experiences of cat encounters (Holder, 1951;Thomas, 1972; Allen, 1989a; Sutton, 1998).

By 1900, most mountain lions had been killed or driven to remote areas, and it was thought that by 1920 they had been extirpated from the state. In addition to hunting pressure, the reduction of the white-tailed deer herd (which had dwindled to less than 300 animals) may also have played a role in the decrease of the mountain lion (Young and Goldman, 1946). Due to restoration projects, the deer population had increased by the late 1940s, and soon after- ward a mountain lion was killed in Montgomery County (Sealander, 1951). In the 1950s and 1960s, sightings and observations of sign increased (Lewis, 1969, 1970), and a second animal was killed in Ashley County (Noble, 1971). Sealander and Gipson (1973) summarized 63 mountain lion records from 1945 to 1972 and concluded that due to the increasing deer population, a small population of mountain lions existed in the state. The last mountain lion killed in the state was in Logan County in 1975 (Sutton, 1998). McBride et al. (1993) concluded there were no reproducing lions in the state after conducting an extensive field study. Reports of sightings or sign have persisted, however, and currently at least four mountain lions have been documented (Witsell et al., 1999; Clark et al., unpubl. data). The origin of these animals is not known, although there are over 100-150 captive animals currently in Arkansas (Sasse, 2001), and free-ranging animals might possibly have originated from that source.

Mountain lions in Arkansas originally were designated as P. concolor coryi, the endangered Florida panther. However, Culver et al. (2000), using mitochondrial DNA, have placed all North American mountain lions into one subspecies, P. c. cougar.

BLACK BEARS
At the time of the early exploration of Arkansas, black bears were found throughout the state and were extremely common. Bears played an important role in the lives of Indians providing them with clothing, food, and ornaments (teeth and claws). As settlers began inhabiting the state, bears were economically important for the same reasons as well as for the utilization of bear grease. This grease or oil was highly prized for cooking in that it did not become rancid as quickly as butter (Featherstonhaugh, 1844). Thousands of barrels of bear oil/grease were shipped annually to ports such as New Orleans. Itis said that OilTrough (Independence County) received its name from the fact that commercial hunters stored bear grease in troughs made of hollow logs before shipment down the White River(Sealander and Heidt, 1990). Due to this commercial trade, thousands of bears were killed annually during the first half of the 19th century. The bear trade was so important that until 1923, Arkansas was unofficially known as "The Bear State" (Holder, 1951; Sealander and Heidt, 1990; Sutton, 1998). As would be expected from such a large and potentially dangerous animal, bear stories have been extremely numerous (e.g., Thomas, 1972; Allen, 1988). With the exception of the lower White River bottoms and the Ouachita Mountains, bears had been largely exterminated from Arkansas at the turn of the 19th century. E / 1910 the population in the Ouachita Mountains also scarce. Holder (1951) estimated that there were only 40-5 bears remaining in the state in the early 1950s. More than half of these were in and around the White River Nation; Wildlife Refuge, and the remaining were scattered in the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains. During 1959, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission began a highly successful restocking program in the Ozark and Ouachita mountains (Smith et al., 1990). Its now estimated that there are over 3500 bears in the state and the AG&FC conducts an annual hunting season (R. Eastridge AG&FC, pers. comm.).