Could MS Have a Bear Hunting Season?

Scooter Whatley and Anthony Ballard with a tranquilized black bear collared for black bear research. Ballard is the Mississippi Black Bear Program Director.

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks Black Bear Program had one common question asked last week:  When is Mississippi getting a bear hunting season?

The question stems from Louisiana announcing it will work forward, creating a new black bear season.

Bear Program Coordinator Anthony Ballard said the question of when MS will have a bear season is difficult to answer. Black bears are native to Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Unregulated hunting and loss of habitat in late 1800 drove the bear population down to threatened levels.  

Additionally, Ballard said he often gets asked how many bears Mississippi has. At the start of the bear program, Mississippi's best estimate for its bear population was 50 bears, and the state still needs an up-to-date estimate.

The population question must be answered before determining a hunting season for bears in Mississippi. However, Ballard said, much fieldwork was completed during the summer to better answer those questions.

"To have a hunting season, you have to figure out how much of the population you can take away to have a stable population, "He said. "We are trying to figure out our population because our estimate is outdated. All I can do is guess on a population until we get a good estimate."

Data has been collected through hair snare samples in a multi-state project with Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee. The states are pooling genetic data to look at the population's demographics, like the sex and age makeup of the bears.

The pieces will be put together to make a puzzle. MDWFP has the data now, but Mississippi State University's College of Forest Resources must analyze the data before conclusions can be drawn from the hair snare research project. MSU serves as the unofficial research arm of MDWFP. Ballard said he is wondering how long the MSU analysis will take.  

BEAR SURPRISES

Over the past year, Ballard said he has seen two surprises.  One is the density of bears.  He knew many bears in Southwest Mississippi in Wilkinson and Claiborne counties but needed to realize exactly how many bears there were.  It was a surprise.  I collared five there in a 15-20-mile stretch.  "It was a surprising density, "Ballard said.

Most of the bear density in Claiborne County is along the Bayou Pierre.  It makes sense, as bears and most other animals use drainages and waterways as travel corridors.  MDWFP collared a 200-pound male a few miles from Alcorn State University.  Ballard said the bear had gone through Canemount Wildlife Management Area and the Windsor Ruins.  

Based on public posts in the MS Bear Photos Facebook group, Clark County also has a good bear density.  Ballard said another surprise to him was finding bears in Noxubee and Atalla County, where habitat gets pretty sparse.

Mississippians have contributed to the bear program research by reporting sightings of bears.  In 2022, people saw 70 bears, which doubled to 150 black bear sightings in 2023.  MDWFP unveiled an interactive map featuring these observations earlier this year.

"I attribute the growth more to public awareness.  They know what to do, and it has helped gather more data," Ballard said.  "It helped the public understand that bears are still out there."

SYNOPSIS OF THE BEAR PROGRAM

MDWFP's next commission meeting is November 16, when Ballard will present on the bear program for an educational session starting at 9 a.m.  The meeting will be at the MDWFO Headquarters in Jackson.

It will be a year in review for Ballard, as he unofficially took the reins of the bear program in November 2022 before getting his official start in January.

"The session will be more of an update on the trapping we have done with the MSU and what we have done since I took over," Ballard said.  "I'll get to talk about how we have moved the bear program forward."  

Taken from The Vicksburg Post