RESEARCH

I Moving Bears I Past and Current Research I

The Louisiana black bear exists mostly in small, isolated populations living in fragmented patches of bottomland hardwood forest. As a wildlife population grows, ideally it would expand into new areas of suitable habitat. Unfortunately, the bear populations and suitable habitats in the region are separated far enough from each other that this natural expansion becomes difficult. The ability of male black bears to range far and wide is well known, however, females generally remain in the same small area throughout their lives. While young male bears disperse from their mother, young females tend to set up their home range near their mother. This behavior, coupled with the fragmented habitat, have prompted bear managers to look seriously at moving bears from existing populations to suitable habitat where bears are rare or absent (called repatriation). The goal of repatriation is to establish a viable population of bears that would help close the gap between isolated bear populations.

Moving bears from one area to another is no easy task, and getting them to stay generally where you put them is even more difficult. Bears have a remarkable homing instinct and quite often show extensive post release movements, but researchers now believe they have developed a method that will work.

Biologists with the Pennsylvania Game Commission developed a new “soft release” translocation technique, where adult females with newborn cubs from an existing population are moved from their winter dens to artificial dens at a release site. Because cubs cannot travel far distances when they emerge from dens, the mothers are likely to stay in these new areas. Once females can be established in an area, males show up on their own in their search for mates and set up their own home ranges.

Researchers at the University of Tennessee compared the “winter den release” method with another soft release method, which involves capturing bears and holding them in pens to acclimate them for 2 weeks in the new release area. Researchers found winter den release was a much more effective technique. Bears were monitored after den emergence, and the winter den release bears had a higher survival rate and stayed closer to the release sites than with the other method. After these translocation successes, bear biologists in Louisiana and Arkansas began looking at the repatriation possibilities in the lower Mississippi Valley. In Arkansas, bears are being moved from White River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) to Felsenthal NWR. In Louisiana, bears are moved from Tensas River NWR and private lands to Lake Ophelia NWR and Red River Wildlife Management Area.
Arkansas Repatriation

The existing healthy bear population in the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests in northwestern Arkansas is the result of a very successful repatriation effort in the 1950's and 60's. About 250 bears were initially stocked from Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada, leading to an estimated current population approaching 3,000. That effort is considered to be the most successful reintroduction of a large carnivore in the world.

In 2000, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) conducted an outreach program to gauge public sentiment about another restocking plan, this time to move black bears to southern Arkansas. The project would involve moving bears 100 miles from White River NWR in eastern Arkansas to Felsenthal NWR in southern Arkansas. A telephone survey of over 400 local citizens living in the 9 county area around Felsenthal NWR showed that 72% of people where favorable to the plan. AGFC also conducted 6 public meetings, where 85% of the attendees were in favor of the plan. Given the positive public support, the next phase of moving bears was ready to start.
Truly a cooperative effort, the restocking project involves a dedicated team from AGFC, University of Tennessee (UT), U.S. Geological Survey’s Southern Appalachian Field Branch, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). In addition to government agencies, the Anderson-Tully Company, Deltic Timber Company, and the Montgomery Island Hunting Club are also active partners in the black bear population restoration effort.

Between 2000 and 2004, 37 adult females and 80 cubs have been moved to the restocking area. While most bears were captured on the White River NWR, some have been taken from Big Island, owned by the Anderson-Tully Company, and Montgomery Island, owned by Montgomery Island Hunting Club. Thirty five of the 37 bears were released on Felsenthal NWR; 2 bears with cubs were released on Deltic Timber Company lands adjacent to the refuge.

Project biologists have been monitoring these females and found that most bears have stayed in and around the repatriation area. The plan is to continue monitoring the translocated bears, refine the release technique, and continue translocations until a self-sustaining population of bears is established in the area.
Louisiana Repatriation

Preliminary repatriation attempts in Louisiana took place in March of 1998. A female and two cubs were removed from her winter den on Epps Plantation (formerly Deltic Timber Corporation) lands in Madison Parish, Louisiana and placed in a den box on the southern portion of the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). In late February of 1999, another female and 2 cubs from Epps Plantation lands were placed in a den at the Buckhorn Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in Tensas Parish. Both females stayed in the general area where they were released, giving credence to the translocation mechanism. As a result, more extensive repatriation efforts were planned for establishing a bear population in central Louisiana.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service assessed habitat suitability to bring bears to an area in Louisiana in lower Concordia, eastern Avoyelles, western West Feliciana, and upper Pointe Coupee Parishes. Called the Three Rivers Complex, the area contains roughly 105,000 acres of public land found in the Bayou Cocodrie NWR, the Lake Ophelia NWR, the Three Rivers WMA, Red River WMA, Grassy Lake WMA, and the Spring Bayou WMA.

The area also contains over 50,000 acres of privately owned woodlands and is an active area for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) enrollments. These incentive programs for private landowners are being utilized to "fill the gaps" and tie the existing fragmented woodlands together. There are several WRP Special Projects that will connect tracts of public land with newly planted hardwood sites.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also assessed community acceptance of repatriation plan through public meetings in the area. Landowners and local officials were very supportive of repatriation and the overall bear recovery program. The BBCC and agencies continue to work together to build support for bears and bear recovery. Involving the local communities is a primary goal of the agencies and organizations working to make this effort succeed.

Between 2001 and 2002, a total of 5 adult females and 12 cubs were moved to Red River WMA (2 females from Saint Mary Parish and 3 females from Epps Plantation). Between 2003 and 2004, 11 adult females and 28 cubs were moved to Lake Ophelia NWR (6 from Tensas River NWR and 5 from Epps Plantation). Since repatriation efforts began in March 2001, 16 adult females and 40 cubs have been moved to the repatriation area. Researchers from Louisiana State University have been monitoring these females and found that most bears have stayed in and around the repatriation area. In fact, a female cub from a litter from the 2001 moves was captured and collared as an adult in 2003 in the repatriation area.