Texas has not seen Black Bears in the state for a good 50 years!!!! However, in recent times, Bruins have been finding success in neighboring Arkansas, Oklahoma and (to some extent) Louisiana and their prodigy are now recolonizing the Lone Star State..............If Black Bears can make it in New Jersey, one has to hope that the colossal land acreage state of Texas can also successfully harbor a population successfully

Black bears come home to East Texas

•  Photo: Handout

Louisiana Black Bears, which haven't been seen in these parts since

 the 1950s, are returning to the region, hungry for fresh sources of

 food and looking for mates.

The bears are moving naturally back to the Lone Star State across 

rivers from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana, said Donna Work,

 with the Texas A&M Forest Service.

"If they are coming over, they need a place to stay," she said. The bears

 are threatened and illegal to kill.

Work said bear populations in neighboring states have grown substantially

 in recent years, forcing rogue male bears to move to Texas in search of their

 own territories. The last black bear spotted in East Texas was killed in

 Polk County in the 1950s, Work said.

Nathan Garner, a volunteer for the East Texas Black Bear TaskForce,

 an official subcommittee of the Black Bear Conservation Coalition, 

said its important to raise awareness about the bears' return.

"I think they can be an asset to people and society," he said. "They're

 of value and a part of our natural heritage."

Garner said it is a good sign that the bears, which were forced out by

 hunters and urban sprawl, are returning to an area where they once

 thrived.

"It's a story of a large mammal that requires a lot of real estate that's

 coming back to East Texas and trying to repopulate the area," he said.

Work said her group wants to teach people here how to live in harmony

 with the bears - showing how it has worked in other states - in an attempt

 to make that transition as easy as possible.

"When you understand something you're fearful of, maybe you can be

 prepared" she said.

Bears make dens in large, hollow trees, brush piles, thickets, rock crevices

 and caves. They are opportunistic feeders, eating almost anything that is

 available. Hunters and property owners can help keep bears away by 

keeping hunting camps and yards clean to prevent odors that will attract 

bears or by switching bait types from corn to soybeans to reduce a bear's

 interest.

Without the enticement of food, bears want to stay away from people

 and will try to stay far from roads, Work said
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