Louisiana Bear population on the rise
Posted: Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:11 pm
warning story includes hype for "bear festival" with anti-hunting perspective
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf ... =louisiana
from the AP
Black bear population rebounding
4/16/2008, 4:02 p.m. CDT
By STACEY PLAISANCE
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — If the Louisiana black bear population continues to rebound as quickly as it has over the past several years, the animal could make its way off the federal government's threatened species list by 2013.
That's according to several experts in the field currently working to get an accurate count of how many bears are in the state and to fill gaps in the bear population. The bear has been on the U.S. threatened species list since the early 1990s.
The threatened status means the bear is at risk of becoming endangered, which would mean it is at risk of becoming extinct. Both categories carry the same level of protection under the federal Endangered Species Act, so the bears cannot be hunted, killed or their habitat taken.
The estimate is that there are at least 500 bears in the state, but there could be as many as 1,000, said Paul Davidson, director of the Black Bear Conservation Committee, a Baton Rouge, La.-based nonprofit made up of various groups and individuals interested in helping the black bear population rebound.
It is also the group that helped establish the Bayou Teche Bear Festival being held this Friday and Saturday in downtown Franklin — the St. Mary Parish town that is home to the Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge. The 9,000 acre refuge was established six years ago to preserve and manage the black bear's hardwood habitat.
The festival, in its fifth year, provides educational information about the Louisiana black bear to keep residents abreast of how the bears are doing and informed about what they can do to help the bear population rebound.
Getting the animal off the threatened species list, however, isn't as simple as having a certain number of bears, said biologist Maria Davidson, who is the bear program manager for the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. (She is also the wife of Paul Davidson.)
To be removed from the list, there must be two sustainable sub-populations of black bears on protected habitat, and there must be a protected corridor connecting the two populations to allow for genetic interchange, she said.
She said the state has established the two sub-populations — in the Atchafalaya Basin and Tensas River Basin — and since 2001, has been working to populate protected areas between them. In all, more than 40 bears and their cubs have been transplanted, she said.
Females with cubs are transplanted because they tend to stay put, whereas males will roam, Maria Davidson said. More than a dozen of the bears transplanted have produced cub litters in their new habitats — two have reproduced twice — which is a great measure of success, she said.
"These bears are very adaptable," she said. "If you just give them a little bit of space, they can do very well."
The bears thrive in bottomland hardwood habitats, which provide adequate cover and a bounty of safe places to den, Maria Davidson said. The bears can den in trees or on the ground in such places as blackberry thickets, thick palmetto and cane breaks.
So far, only a few transplanted bears have abandoned their cubs to attempt to return to their original home. In those cases, wildlife officials have placed the cubs with other mother bears in the wild, Maria Davidson said.
The Davidsons said they know the bear population is growing and that the bears are thriving in their new environments. They say the state's bear population should be at a healthy status in the next three to five years.
"The bear population is growing rapidly," Paul Davidson said. Still, he said, he expects it will take about five years to get the species off the threatened species list.
Genetic testing is being done to track the bears and get an accurate count of exactly how many there are in the state, Maria Davidson said.
For the testing, scientists are using an alternative to capturing the bears. They place food, or bait, inside a barbed wire corral so that when the bears enter, hair is pulled, collected by scientists on a weekly basis, and analyzed.
"It's the same as catching a bear in a trap, but it's cheaper, more sustainable long-term and it's much less traumatic for the bears," she said.
For years, the Louisiana black bear was overhunted and its hardwood habitat disturbed by unregulated harvest. Eventually, they could only be found in the most remote, inaccessible parts of the state.
Paul Davidson said the BBCC helped establish the bear festival as a way to keep the citizens of St. Mary, Iberia and other parishes where the bears live informed about ways to coexist with them.
Besides food, music and other entertainment, the festival has a strong educational component, he said.
Among the activities popular with children is a black bear obstacle course where participants wear bear-like vests with pockets and collect foods black bears like to eat, such as grubs, berries, acorns and crawfish.
Parishes where the bears are thriving, or beginning to do so, include Madison, Pointe Coupee, Tensas, St. Mary, Iberia, lower Concordia and eastern Avoyelles.
On the Net:
Black Bear Conservation Committee, http://www.bbcc.org
Bayou Teche Bear Festival, http://www.bayoutechebearfest.org
Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge, http://www.fws.gov/bayouteche
http://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf ... =louisiana
from the AP
Black bear population rebounding
4/16/2008, 4:02 p.m. CDT
By STACEY PLAISANCE
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — If the Louisiana black bear population continues to rebound as quickly as it has over the past several years, the animal could make its way off the federal government's threatened species list by 2013.
That's according to several experts in the field currently working to get an accurate count of how many bears are in the state and to fill gaps in the bear population. The bear has been on the U.S. threatened species list since the early 1990s.
The threatened status means the bear is at risk of becoming endangered, which would mean it is at risk of becoming extinct. Both categories carry the same level of protection under the federal Endangered Species Act, so the bears cannot be hunted, killed or their habitat taken.
The estimate is that there are at least 500 bears in the state, but there could be as many as 1,000, said Paul Davidson, director of the Black Bear Conservation Committee, a Baton Rouge, La.-based nonprofit made up of various groups and individuals interested in helping the black bear population rebound.
It is also the group that helped establish the Bayou Teche Bear Festival being held this Friday and Saturday in downtown Franklin — the St. Mary Parish town that is home to the Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge. The 9,000 acre refuge was established six years ago to preserve and manage the black bear's hardwood habitat.
The festival, in its fifth year, provides educational information about the Louisiana black bear to keep residents abreast of how the bears are doing and informed about what they can do to help the bear population rebound.
Getting the animal off the threatened species list, however, isn't as simple as having a certain number of bears, said biologist Maria Davidson, who is the bear program manager for the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. (She is also the wife of Paul Davidson.)
To be removed from the list, there must be two sustainable sub-populations of black bears on protected habitat, and there must be a protected corridor connecting the two populations to allow for genetic interchange, she said.
She said the state has established the two sub-populations — in the Atchafalaya Basin and Tensas River Basin — and since 2001, has been working to populate protected areas between them. In all, more than 40 bears and their cubs have been transplanted, she said.
Females with cubs are transplanted because they tend to stay put, whereas males will roam, Maria Davidson said. More than a dozen of the bears transplanted have produced cub litters in their new habitats — two have reproduced twice — which is a great measure of success, she said.
"These bears are very adaptable," she said. "If you just give them a little bit of space, they can do very well."
The bears thrive in bottomland hardwood habitats, which provide adequate cover and a bounty of safe places to den, Maria Davidson said. The bears can den in trees or on the ground in such places as blackberry thickets, thick palmetto and cane breaks.
So far, only a few transplanted bears have abandoned their cubs to attempt to return to their original home. In those cases, wildlife officials have placed the cubs with other mother bears in the wild, Maria Davidson said.
The Davidsons said they know the bear population is growing and that the bears are thriving in their new environments. They say the state's bear population should be at a healthy status in the next three to five years.
"The bear population is growing rapidly," Paul Davidson said. Still, he said, he expects it will take about five years to get the species off the threatened species list.
Genetic testing is being done to track the bears and get an accurate count of exactly how many there are in the state, Maria Davidson said.
For the testing, scientists are using an alternative to capturing the bears. They place food, or bait, inside a barbed wire corral so that when the bears enter, hair is pulled, collected by scientists on a weekly basis, and analyzed.
"It's the same as catching a bear in a trap, but it's cheaper, more sustainable long-term and it's much less traumatic for the bears," she said.
For years, the Louisiana black bear was overhunted and its hardwood habitat disturbed by unregulated harvest. Eventually, they could only be found in the most remote, inaccessible parts of the state.
Paul Davidson said the BBCC helped establish the bear festival as a way to keep the citizens of St. Mary, Iberia and other parishes where the bears live informed about ways to coexist with them.
Besides food, music and other entertainment, the festival has a strong educational component, he said.
Among the activities popular with children is a black bear obstacle course where participants wear bear-like vests with pockets and collect foods black bears like to eat, such as grubs, berries, acorns and crawfish.
Parishes where the bears are thriving, or beginning to do so, include Madison, Pointe Coupee, Tensas, St. Mary, Iberia, lower Concordia and eastern Avoyelles.
On the Net:
Black Bear Conservation Committee, http://www.bbcc.org
Bayou Teche Bear Festival, http://www.bayoutechebearfest.org
Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge, http://www.fws.gov/bayouteche