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Officials search for black bear spotted 15 miles from Nashville line
BY ANNE PAINE • STAFF WRITER • MARCH 27, 2008
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A black bear has shown up in Hickman County — less than 15 miles southwest of the Davidson County line — and wildlife agents say anyone seeing it should call them rather than trying to kill it.
Where the bear came from and how it arrived in Middle Tennessee could not be determined Wednesday night.
"It doesn't alarm us, and it shouldn't alarm anyone down there," said Doug Markham, a Tennessee Wildlife Re-sources Agency spokesman.
"That bear is not open game."
A man had reported Monday that he saw what appeared to be a black bear while riding horseback in the Bon Aqua area of Hickman County, Markham said.
A TWRA officer confirmed the sighting after finding a bear track in the mud, astounding wildlife officials.
They often receive calls about bears or panthers, for instance, that turn out to be dogs or something other than what the viewer believes, Markham said.
bears fear humans
Black bears, unlike polar or grizzly bears, are "lousy predators," he said.
"They eat as much berries and roots as they do anything. They'll eat meat only if they get lucky or find something dead."
Black bears have an "enormous fear" of people, but the exception can be when they have cubs with them, he said. This one doesn't have cubs with it.
animal can't be hunted
Bears cannot be hunted legally in most of the state. A season exists for them in parts of East Tennessee, but it is not open at this time of the year.
Black bears once roamed the state border to border, but people shot most of them, and the others were scared into the mountains where few humans lived. They can be found in the mountains of East Tennessee today and the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area near Jamestown, Tenn. They were reintroduced in the latter.
leave it to experts
People can defend themselves from wildlife if their life is in danger, but Mike Butler, head of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, agreed that dealing with the bear should be left to the professionals at TWRA.
"Hopefully, they can recapture it and relocate it somewhere," he said.
He speculated that the bear moved in from Mississippi or Arkansas, swimming the Mississippi River or crossing a railroad trestle or bridge.
Bears are smart and would find a way, he said.
It's more likely the bear came from the southwestern direction than from the east, where Big South Fork and the state's tallest mountains are. Those routes would be more highly populated, he said.
Contact Anne Paine at 259-8071 or apaine@tennessean.com.
Black Bear near Nashville, TN
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from the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal
http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl ... /803290308
Black bear may have trekked across Cannon County
Associated Press
NASHVILLE — A black bear spotted on the fringes of Nashville's busy metro area probably roamed from the Cumberland Plateau in search of food, a state wildlife official says.
A bear was spotted Monday in Bon Aqua in Hickman County, southwest of Nashville, and again on Wednesday in Fairview, in suburban Williamson County.
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Officials say a bear track found about five days ago east of Murfreesboro in Cannon County probably came from the same animal and might have been a week old.
They suspect the bear wandered from the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a wilderness area on the upper plateau, more than 100 miles east of Nashville.
Daryl Ratajczak, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency big game coordinator, says bears can travel hundreds of miles for something to eat when they emerge from their winter dens.
They'll eat grass or anything green, but they also want protein. Insects are a source, as is carrion. A plant called squawroot in the Great Smoky Mountains is filling for bears, but it's not found in this area. Many berries aren't out yet.
A lot of times the animals will go back to where they came from on their own, and Ratajczak is hoping that will be the case with this one.
"We just want this bear to go back naturally. We don't want to go after him," he said.
Kasie Davis saw the bear climb a tree near her Fairview home Wednesday. She was with her sister and a cousin, and they all started screaming.
The girls went to the house and the bear, apparently, moved on.
Kasie's mother didn't quite believe their tale — until she read about other sightings in the newspaper the next morning.
"I just thought they were seeing things," Kasie's mother Bridget Mitchell said with a laugh.
Black bear may have trekked across Cannon County
Associated Press
NASHVILLE — A black bear spotted on the fringes of Nashville's busy metro area probably roamed from the Cumberland Plateau in search of food, a state wildlife official says.
A bear was spotted Monday in Bon Aqua in Hickman County, southwest of Nashville, and again on Wednesday in Fairview, in suburban Williamson County.
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Officials say a bear track found about five days ago east of Murfreesboro in Cannon County probably came from the same animal and might have been a week old.
They suspect the bear wandered from the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a wilderness area on the upper plateau, more than 100 miles east of Nashville.
Daryl Ratajczak, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency big game coordinator, says bears can travel hundreds of miles for something to eat when they emerge from their winter dens.
They'll eat grass or anything green, but they also want protein. Insects are a source, as is carrion. A plant called squawroot in the Great Smoky Mountains is filling for bears, but it's not found in this area. Many berries aren't out yet.
A lot of times the animals will go back to where they came from on their own, and Ratajczak is hoping that will be the case with this one.
"We just want this bear to go back naturally. We don't want to go after him," he said.
Kasie Davis saw the bear climb a tree near her Fairview home Wednesday. She was with her sister and a cousin, and they all started screaming.
The girls went to the house and the bear, apparently, moved on.
Kasie's mother didn't quite believe their tale — until she read about other sightings in the newspaper the next morning.
"I just thought they were seeing things," Kasie's mother Bridget Mitchell said with a laugh.
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Re: from the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal
Emily wrote:http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080329/NEWS01/803290308
Black bear may have trekked across Cannon County
Associated Press
NASHVILLE — A black bear spotted on the fringes of Nashville's busy metro area probably roamed from the Cumberland Plateau in search of food, a state wildlife official says.
A bear was spotted Monday in Bon Aqua in Hickman County, southwest of Nashville, and again on Wednesday in Fairview, in suburban Williamson County.
ADVERTISEMENT
Building Strength and Muscle without Illegal Substances
What Everyone Ought to Know About Moving Companies
Dreaming of Spring Gardens? Shop Early and Save
Officials say a bear track found about five days ago east of Murfreesboro in Cannon County probably came from the same animal and might have been a week old.
They suspect the bear wandered from the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, a wilderness area on the upper plateau, more than 100 miles east of Nashville.
Daryl Ratajczak, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency big game coordinator, says bears can travel hundreds of miles for something to eat when they emerge from their winter dens.
They'll eat grass or anything green, but they also want protein. Insects are a source, as is carrion. A plant called squawroot in the Great Smoky Mountains is filling for bears, but it's not found in this area. Many berries aren't out yet.
A lot of times the animals will go back to where they came from on their own, and Ratajczak is hoping that will be the case with this one.
"We just want this bear to go back naturally. We don't want to go after him," he said.
Kasie Davis saw the bear climb a tree near her Fairview home Wednesday. She was with her sister and a cousin, and they all started screaming.
The girls went to the house and the bear, apparently, moved on.
Kasie's mother didn't quite believe their tale — until she read about other sightings in the newspaper the next morning.
"I just thought they were seeing things," Kasie's mother Bridget Mitchell said with a laugh.
Yea there around there shoot I lived in the Cross Creeks Wildlife area out od Dover Tn. hells bells there is no less than 5 of em that swim the Lake Barkley/Cumberland River and live on eithe side in Stewart county tn some out of Cub Creek Bay and accrost he river out of BearSprings Tn. Those 2 names of area ott too thell the DFG in Nashville Tn. they are resident bear/ even 1 in Land Betwween The Lakes area and accrost Ky Lake right out of Arurra Ky there 1 bear. Shoot the DFG knows it the neighborn around these parts knows it and its just how it is.
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