Warren County’s population of Louisiana black bears is on the rise, creating a steady trend, and no sign of their presence here slowing down, said biologist Brad Young, who specializes in bears and their habits for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

An increase in the number of bears gives good reason for people to learn to live with the furry creatures, he added.

“It seems there are just more showing up and more sightings,” he said. “It’s nothing that should be feared. People just need to get used to having them around. They need to learn to co-habitate, because the population is growing. It’s not exploding, but I want people to be aware that they’re present in and around Warren County.”

Young estimates about 100 bears living in Mississippi, up a few from last year and up about 75 from six years ago when Young began working for the state agency.

The bear increase is natural, not created by importing animals. It has also fostered a desire to have more bears trapped and collared, so movements – breeding and eating patterns – can be tracked by biologists. So far, 13 bears have been collared in Mississippi. Young, who travels to all areas of the state where bears are spotted, said he hopes to increase that number by setting more traps.

“We want to make a push to get GPS collars on as many bears as we can,” he said.

June and July are breeding months for bears, which makes this time of year a typical time for sightings, Young said. So far this year, about 30 reports have been made of bears roaming between Claiborne, Warren and Issaquena counties. Young believes five or six bears call Warren County home at any given time. In recent weeks, the same bear has been spotted about three times at Steele Bayou, Young said. Another black bear wasn’t seen, but left some evidence of his whereabouts for the past eight or so months.

His collar, placed on him last November at Davis Island in Warren County, had been ripped off and left in a corn field in Louisiana, Young said, which likely means the bear had a fight with another male bear. What it did show, though, was exactly where the bear had traveled, scavenging for food and, perhaps, female companionship.

“We downloaded 200 points all across Mississippi and Louisiana,” he said.

Knowing black bears are alive and well in and around the state is good news for Young and his agency. The Louisiana black bear was nearly eliminated by the early 20th century through destruction of bottomland hardwood forests and hunting. A concerted effort from the MDWFP and local enthusiasts began rekindling the growth by the 1980s. In fact, three litters of cubs are expected to be born in the state next year.

“It’s one of those things – we’ve always had the habitat, but we’ve always had a lack of bears,” he said. “With these litter cubs, combined with bear populations of other states coming in…the population is growing.”

Description The Louisiana Black Bear is one of 16 recognized subspecies of American Black Bear. Adult males may weigh 300 to 400 pounds or more, and adult females 120 to over 180 pounds. Their numbers are largest in the Atchafalaya and Tensas river basins of Lousiana. They are also spreading into Texas and Arkansas and have state and federal protections as a threatened species.Although classified as carnivores, the bears are not usually active predators, and have an omnivorous diet consisting primarily of vegetable matter. They are opportunistic feeders.