by ANDERSON COUNTY, Texas (KETK) – A black bear spotted in East Texas recently is now believed to be the first of its kind to stay in the area for winter in more than 50 years.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said they’ve been able to verify public reports that lead them to believe an American Black Bear stayed in the Neches River corridor for the winter.
This means that the bear would be the first documented black bear to spend the winter in East Texas in over 50 years. According to reports, the bear is shy, afraid of humans and is currently making its rounds in Anderson and Cherokee counties near the Neches River from Highway 79 to Highway 294
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said the young male black bear is growing fast and could be fully mature by the middle of this summer. The department thinks he may be heading into bear country in Louisiana, Arkansas, or Oklahoma based on his travels through East Texas.
“Don’t be surprised if you see him in either Anderson, Cherokee or even the NE portion of Houston County,” the department said on Thursday. “We also ask citizens to in neighboring counties to be on alert in case he decides to leave the Neches River later this summer.”
According to the Texas Black Bear Alliance, the American Black Bear’s range used to extend from Alaska down into northern Mexico but the species has lost over 90% of its historic range in the southern United States.
Map courtesy of the Texas Black Bear Alliance.
The alliance says the species has returned to Texas thanks to growing populations in neighboring states like Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, where the Louisiana black bear subspecies was removed from the federal Threatened and Endangered Species list in 2016.
Black bears are a protected species in the state of Texas and anyone who sees him is asked to report him to the local county biologist, the Texas Game Wardens or the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
