Black bears seen more in Missouri

The Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The population of black bears in Missouri could be growing, with anglers, hunters and campers reporting more frequent sightings.

The Missouri Department of Conservation recently wrote a Black Bear Management Plan.

A scientist with the department, Jeff Beringer, said he believes the bears probably migrated from the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains in west and northwest Arkansas.

Firm population estimates aren't available yet, but some believe a few hundred bears could be living in Missouri.

"Our goals are to learn more about bears in the state," Beringer said.

Beringer said he's interested in "trying to promote bears as a success story."

The native bears were likely wiped out by the early 20th century. Beringer said it's possible they survived in remote pockets of the Ozark Mountains, but most didn't last with the combination of unregulated hunting and large-scale deforestation.

Black bears did survive in the 160,000-acre White River National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Arkansas, once known as the "Bear State."

By the middle of the 20th century, numbers in that state were so low officials imported bears from Minnesota and Manitoba for a restoration effort that took place from 1959-1967.

Beringer said black bears are not nearly as dangerous as grizzlies.

Typically, black bears are not aggressive and only a mother near her cubs will react protectively.

Shouting, banging pots and pans, or making other loud noises typically will frighten them away, he said.

Conservation agents believe the population of bears is scattered south of Interstate 44. A credible report came in from Boone County and one bear was even killed in Iowa.

"We don't know a lot about the bear population," Beringer said. "We rely on the public. We record those reports and we record the number of cubs sighted.

Beringer encourages people to report any sighting to the nearest Conservation Department office.