With fires scorching black bear ranges in the mountains of West Texas and Northern Mexico, and extreme drought making it hard to find water and food, the usually solitary bears have been on the move this summer, increasingly making their way into towns and cities. And where bears need to go is where the food is, be it dumpsters, gardens or even bird and deer feeders.

There have been 13 black bear sightings in west Texas since May 31, according to Jonah Evans, a Texas Parks and Wildlife diversity biologist for the Trans-Pecos region in charge of tracking bear sightings in the area. In all of 2010, he said, there was only one reported sighting. “They’re going to where they need to,” said Louis Harveson, a Sul Ross State University professor of wildlife management who directs the school’s Borderlands Research Institute.

With all their proximity to humans lately there have been only black bear sightings, but no attacks on humans have been reported to authorities in Texas this year. But the same is not true for other regions this summer, where similar stories about bears traveling to find food have led to tragedy. A 61 year-old woman was killed by a black bear in Arizona, seven teens were attacked by a bear in Alaska, and a female grizzly bear with two cubs killed a hiker in Yellowstone National Park.

Most black bears are found in forests, but they are omnivores and can make it anywhere. At least two subspecies of black bear are thought to occur in Texas: the Mexican Black Bear (Ursus americanus eremicus) and the New Mexico Black Bear (subspecies U. a. amblyceps). Both are found in West Texas in desert scrub or woodland habitats within scattered mountain ranges, predominantly the Chisos and Guadalupe Mountains. In addition, both subspecies of black bear are state-listed as endangered in Texas.

More About Black Bear in Texas

The black bear is a strong, large mammal. It is actually one of the largest mammals in North America. Adult bears reach a length of 5 to 6 feet, height at the shoulder of 2 to 3 feet, and weigh 200 to 300 pounds! Although called a “black” bear, fur colors can range from black to the occasional cinnamon-brown. The front claws of a bear are generally longer than hind claws.

Black bears are capable of climbing trees, but adult bears generally prefer remaining on the ground. The black bear is a true omnivore, opportunistically feeding on a wide range of food items. In fact, plant material almost always comprises over 50 percent of the black bear’s diet. This is why hunters commonly see black bears at their deer feeders. Insects and other animals comprise a small percentage.

“We used to have thousands of bears in the state of Texas,” said professor Louis Harveson of Sul Ross State University. “They (hunters) used to hunt in the Davis Mountains and harvest eight a day.” But unregulated hunting, among other factors, drove black bears to near extinction in Texas, where they are still a protected species. But in nature, wildlife populations tend to cycle.

In the late 1980s, a female bear made her way across the Rio Grande from Mexico, found a male and created the first mating pair in the state in decades. Since that time, the bear population in Texas has fluctuated, but has been rising slowly over the years. Now, Harveson said, that population might see a permanent jump, an unexpected benefit to the devastation of the drought.

“I think that whole drought-lack-of-food-availability cycle actually helps them recolonize new bear habitats,” Harveson said. “Because they’re able to put their nose in the air and smell water, and once they get to the river, they start exploring. That’s what we’re seeing in the Big Bend.” But just how many black bears are in Texas? And how many more are moving in?

Those are the real questions. “As many sightings as we’ve had, there have to be a whole lot more than what we’re aware of,” he said. Harveson said he has spotted five or six out in the field in the last two months alone. “Most of the bears that I’ve seen are in surprisingly good condition,” he said. “Somehow, they’re making a living. I’m not sure how.” It seems black bears are staking their own claim in Texas, and it looks like residents, as well as wildlife management officials, will have be dealing with sightings and potential black bear conflicts into the future.

The mission of the DNR’s black bear management program is to maintain a healthy black bear population, but also one that provides a balance of recreational opportunities for residents and at the same time minimizes conflicts with the growing human population within the state. To fulfill this mission, the Michigan DNR has established 6 strategic bear management goals:

Population – The first four management goals relate to the endemic black bear population.

• Maintain a viable bear population within habitats suitable for the species where socially acceptable. This goal attempts to balance bear population size with human population.
• Maintain bear abundance at levels compatible with land use, recreational opportunities, and the public’s acceptance capacity for bear. Keep enough for a viable population, but not too many so that numerous nuisance issues are created.
• Manage black bear habitat to provide for the long-term viability of the species. This involves habitat management and conservation of important food, cover, water, and space.
• Use hunting as the primary tool to help achieve population goals. This is the only economically viable way to regulate black bear numbers within an area.

Recreation – Relates to regulated hunting for Michigan black bear, but in addition to hunting the DNR seeks to provide bear-related recreational opportunities which recognize the aesthetic value of bear.

Education – The Michigan DNR wishes to promote education about bear, bear-related recreational activities, and how to minimize negative human-bear interactions.

According to experts, black bear were eradicated from Texas by the 1950s. However, bears would occassionally show up from time to time as they traveled into the Lone Star State—primarily from Mexico. Because there was no game law prohibiting them from being killed, the State of Texas formally made bear hunting illegal in 1983. Shortly thereafter, bears that moved north and into Texas were protected, begin to reproduce, and have been expanding their range north and eastward since.

Black bear have had a stronghold in the mountainous areas of the Trans-Pecos, but the animals have been moving into the Edwards Plateau more recently. They are showing up on game cameras placed out by hunters to track white-tailed deer. In fact, just last year one had to be chemically immobilized and moved out of the city of Del Rio, and another big bear was road-killed near Alpine. Then there was the shooting of a black bear in Menard County earlier this year:

“Ray Hernandez was checking for oil at a pump jack this summer on a vast stretch of ranchland in Menard County when his cell phone rang. It was a well worker at a pipe yard on the property, insisting that he’d seen a bear.

The June 23 sighting escalated swiftly into a bear hunt that ended with the crack of a rifle, a felled beast and a criminal charge against Hernandez, who decapitated the state-protected creature with a hacksaw and ferried home its head and paws.

The black bear that wandered onto the Central Texas cattle ranch that day is the first ever confirmed in that part of the state, according to Capt. Alan Teague, a game warden with Texas Parks and Wildlife. For Teague and others at the agency, it’s further proof that the stamped-out species is reclaiming lost territory.”

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