Written by: Therese Apel, Darkhorse Press
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks has released a map of 43 bears that have been tagged in the last two years.
The sampling shows 15 counties that have been proven to be a home to black bears, most of which are along the southern half of the Delta.
MDWFP’s Black Bear Program is able to gather valuable data by collaring the bears, and to put it toward an effort to learn more about the population of this growing species. MDWFP officials said the program exists as a result of cooperative landowners allowing them to access the wildlife on their properties.
Mississippi black bears are generally shy animals and not aggressive towards humans, nor are they predatory. Black bears are not known to attack humans unless there’s a mitigating cause, such as feeling cornered or threatened. MDWFP officials say there has never been a case documented in Mississippi of a human being attacked by a bear; “however, bears are large, powerful wild animals and should be treated with caution and respect.”
Generally bears can sense a human in its habitat and vacate the premises before the human knows it’s there, but if it’s confronted it will more than likely run away or stand on its hind legs.
“Contrary to popular belief, this is not aggressive behavior of any kind, and the bear is not getting ready to charge or attack,” MDWFP’s website says. “The bear is simply standing up to get a better look at what it has just encountered. Even in the case of a female with her young, generally bears do not aggressively defend their cubs. After the bear sees what you are, it will likely go back down on all fours and leave the area either walking or running.”
If you see a black bear, MDWFP asks that you fill out the observation form so that they can add it to their data.
