В Миссисипи популяция черных медведей выросла до 400–500 особей, но охотничий сезон не планируется

Mississippi’s black bear population is growing, state data shows JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippi’s black bear population is bigger than it was a decade ago, but state wildlife officials say residents shouldn’t expect a hunting season anytime soon. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks estimates the state’s core black bear population at 400 to 500 bears, concentrated on the western side of the state. Anthony Ballard, the department’s Black Bear Program leader, presented the new data to the state Wildlife Commission this past Thursday. The presentation was livestreamed and is now public information, Ballard said. “So right now we’re estimating about 400 to 500 bears on the western side of the state in our study area, which is the core population,” Ballard said. “That’s far and away going to be the majority of where our densities are.” The news comes after a summer of black bear sightings around the Jackson metro, including a bear caught on camera crossing Gluckstadt Road in Madison County in late July and multiple sightings reported near the Ross Barnett Reservoir and in the Fannin community of Rankin County. The state’s last population estimate was conducted in 2012. Ballard said the department tries to update the estimate roughly every 10 years. “The growth is looking healthy, not extremely high, not extremely low, but really good solid numbers as we’re growing,” Ballard said. Despite the increase, Ballard said the growing number of sightings doesn’t mean the state has too many bears. “No, by no means are we overpopulated,” he said. Ballard said two things have to happen before Mississippi could open a bear hunting season. “There’s two things that have to happen for a hunting season,” Ballard said. “Number one, there has to be legislation passed to give the commission the authority to actually have a season. Number two, there has to be the removal of the black bear off of the state protected species list.” Even if both of those steps happen, Ballard said an actual season is likely a long way off. “Once those two things happen, then a season framework could go into place,” he said. “What we’re hoping right now is that we can just stick with the data. Once we get to that point, it’s going to be likely many years from now.” Mississippi lawmakers introduced a bill last year that would have set up a framework for a bear hunting season, but it failed to pass. For comparison, Louisiana’s bear population is estimated to be between 1,200 and 1,400, according to Ballard. “We’re looking at roughly half in the western side of the state is what they do, a little less than half,” Ballard said. Louisiana’s population was about 1,200 bears when the state opened its first hunting season in 2024, Ballard said. Ballard said MDWFP’s role isn’t to make the call on a season, but to provide the numbers that inform it. “Our job is to collect as much data as we can so we can make as solid of decisions as possible when that time comes,” he said. Ballard said the frequent bear sightings shared on social media this summer don’t necessarily reflect the true size of the population, since a single bear can generate numerous reports as it moves from place to place. “That’s something we should try to remind people of is one bear can get seen tens, hundreds of times and reported and shared thousands of times online, and it’s only one bear,” Ballard said. For now, Ballard said the department will continue monitoring the state’s bear population and collecting data across Mississippi. Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter. See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it and include the headline of the story in your email. Copyright 2026 WLBT. All rights reserved.