During this program, 161 bears were
captured in Cook County, Minnesota and released into Louisiana by
LDWF personnel. Pointe Coupee Parish, in the Upper Atchafalaya Basin,
received 130 bears and the rest were released near the Madison/Tensas
Parish line in the Tensas River Basin. Bears dispersing from the
release sites were reported in all states adjacent to Louisiana over
the next three years. At least 30 of these animals died shortly after
the restocking effort, mostly from vehicle collisions and illegal
kills. Previous taxonomic and genetic research indicated that the
genetics of the Louisiana bear were not compromised by the
introduction of the Minnesota bears. As technology has improved,
however, the most recent genetic studies indicate that the bears in
the northern Pointe Coupee population do show some evidence of a
Minnesota influence, even though the restocking was considered a
failure.
In 1977, Louis Brunet estimated 350 bears remained in
Louisiana, all in large forest tracts isolated from human
disturbance. In 1981, Dewey Wills summarized data from LDWF district
biologists, and estimated 110 to125 bears in Louisiana. These
historical numbers probably do not represent true changes in
abundance, but rather can be attributed to estimates based on
incidental reports. No quantitative survey data had been collected
prior to the listing under the Endangered Species Act.
The only current reliable estimates of
bear numbers in Louisiana are for the Tensas River Basin population,
which has been intensively studied for several years by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and the University of Tennessee. In 1991,
researchers estimated 60 to 100 animals in the Tensas Basin,
primarily on Big Lake Wildlife Management Area, Tensas River National
Wildlife Refuge, and private forestland north of I-20 (Epps
Plantation). In 1998, the population estimate for Epps Plantation was
40 to 60 bears. In 1999, the population of Tensas River National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR) was estimated between 90 and 180 bears using a
DNA hair capture technique. By February 2005, 150 different bears had been captured and
identified in the Tensas Basin, indicating that previous
estimates may have been conservative.
In addition to the Tensas
population, bears still occur in the Atchafalaya Basin, Tunica Hills
and Pearl River Basin. Since 1992, Louisiana State University (LSU)
and agency personnel have captured and identified over 100 different
bears in the Atchafalaya region of coastal Louisiana. A hair snare
survey is currently being conducted in the northern population and
results of that research should be available soon. While resident
breeding populations are concentrated in the Tensas and Atchafalya
River Basins, individual bears, usually sub-adult males, disperse
from these primary subpopulations and turn up in unexpected locations
in other parts of the state and beyond.
The BBCC, LDWF, FWS, and LSU have been
translocating bears to help close the gap between the Tensas and
Atchafalaya Basin bear populations. Wildlife personnel move adult
females and their cubs from their winter dens in the Tensas Basin to
artificial dens at Lake Ophelia NWR, and the Red River and Three
Rivers Wildlife Management Areas in east-central Louisiana. Between
March 2001 and 2006, 30 adult females and 69 cubs had been moved,
and most of these bears remained in and around the target area.
Past management of black bears in
Louisiana has focused primarily on harvest restrictions, restocking, 
and habitat protection. The last bear hunting season was held in
1988. In 1991, the civil penalty for killing black bears was set at
$10,000 per animal and criminal penalties include a possible prison
term.
Individuals have been prosecuted for
illegally killing bears in Louisiana on several occasions. In 1999, a
man plead guilty to shooting a Louisiana black bear in 1997. He was
sentenced to 5 year probation and nearly $10,000 in fines. Over
$6,000 of his fines were paid in restitution to a Louisiana State
University program that had spent several years studying the bear he
killed.
In 2001, a man plead guilty to killing a Louisiana black bear
and was sentenced to 3 year probation and loss of hunting privileges
and $12,000 in fines. He paid a $2,500 fine, $9,000 restitution to
the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and $500 to the
Black Bear Conservation Committee.
In addition to laws against
illegally killing bears in Louisiana, in Fall 2004, it became illegal
to intentionally feed wild black bears in Louisiana, with fines up to
$550. The feeding law was passed to prevent conflicts that arise when bears associate people with food.