Dave’s World

I believe it’s a first in my career, we received a press release from the U.S. Forest Service reminding people to be “Bear Aware” while enjoying the forests in Mississippi. Apparently the population of bears has increased across the state and bear sightings are becoming a little more frequent. And just so you know, if you encounter a bear remain calm and do not run.

That said, the likelihood of encountering a bear in Yalobusha County is slim, they are more commonly found along the Gulf Coast, southwest Mississippi and in the Mississippi River Delta. In recent years, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP) estimated there were around 150 bears in the state but that number is outdated and the current population estimate is well north of 300.

The agency has documented bear sightings in neighboring Panola, Calhoun, Tallahatchie and Grenada counties. Male bears travel further distances than female bears and have been in Mississippi for decades. Biologists report an increasing number of female reproducing bears that could imply a population spike for the Mississippi black bears.

I have never seen a bear in the wild in Mississippi, but my step-son can attest to the growing population. Several years ago he went outside on his grandparents’ back porch in Grenada County and found himself face-to-face with a bear. This juvenile bear was eating seeds in a bird feeder located only a few feet from the porch. I think both of them were startled and my step-son didn’t even think to take his phone out and snap a picture. He went back inside and several others caught a glimpse of the bear as it made a hasty getaway.

In November, my step-son saw three more bears while he was hunting at Mahannah Wildlife Management Area in Issaquena County. He sent me a text that afternoon and a picture.

“Momma bear is huge,” he said, and I think he was a tad nervous even though they were several hundred yards across a field. Charlie managed to snap a picture, holding his iPhone to lens of his binoculars to get a decent image.

I don’t know how much she weighed, but MDWFP shared details about a massive black bear that was tranquilized and collared in Sharkey County earlier this month. The bear, named M18, weighed 510 pounds and is the heaviest documented by the state’s Black Bear Program, a collaboration between Mississippi State University and MDWFP. M18 shattered the previous record of 468 pounds, which was held by a roadkill bear in Wilkinson County.

M18 was originally collared in August, 2022, and he weighed 360 pounds. He managed to slip out of that collar shortly after he was caught. The bear program documents the bears, putting microchips inside that allow identification and when M18 was trapped earlier this month, they were able to identify him. Can you imagine a 500-plus pound bear in Mississippi?
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he increased bear population in the state comes from decades of conversation efforts by MDWFP and other organizations. The first breeding female documented in the state was in 2005 and the numbers have been increasing steadily since.

Some believe that bears were stocked in the state, similar to conservation efforts to bring back turkeys and deer. Starting in the 1950s, turkeys were captured in areas where populations thrived and released into other areas of the state that had little or no turkeys. Deer were imported to the state from across the country.

But bears have repopulated on their own following intense management, with many bears swimming the mighty Mississippi as populations increased in neighboring states.

I enjoy hunting and being in the outdoors, and am thankful for the successful conservation efforts in our state, especially for turkeys. Mossy Oak released a feature-length documentary, “The Colonel & The Fox,” earlier this year, retelling the story of two men who may be the last of the greatest generation of conservationists. You can stream this documentary, “The Colonel & The Fox: The Greatest Generation’s Fight to Save America’s Greatest Game Bird” from Mossy Oak’s website.

Now if we can just keep the bears from eating the turkeys, all will be well in the woods. Just kidding, everybody knows bears don’t eat turkeys, they eat honey!

Merry Christmas!