Zoo’s rare black bears get more room to roam
North American omnivore has almost vanished in Texas, but officials hope for their comeback
Belle lumbered to the top of a felled tree trunk, rising up on her hind legs to survey the land around her.
The trees, the pools, the caves — they’re all new to the 5-year-old North American black bear, part of an expansion of her exhibit at the Houston Zoo. The new exhibit, which opens to the public Friday, triples the bear’s space to roam to 6,000 square feet.
Belle shares the exhibit with Willow, also 5, whom zoo officials say could be her biological sister.
The new enclosure is a better fit for the duo, who came to Houston in 2013, because it boasts more water features, climbing structures and shade than their previous home. But it also offers Texans a rare glimpse of these burly bears.
North American black bears used to roam freely across the Texas landscape, but the omnivores have all but disappeared thanks to shrinking habitat and hunting.
The Houston Zoo hopes to one day change that.
For the past 10 years, zoo officials have been working with the state, along with the nonprofit Texas Black Bear Alliance, to raise awareness and encourage people to report sightings of the predators — and not shoot them — so that officials can develop better protection plans.
There’s still hope, officials said, that the bears could make a comeback.
“What we have in Texas and what we can work with is Texas pride,” said Renee Bumpus, senior director of the zoo’s Wildlife Conservation Program. “When they know the species is supposed to be there, they can come up with solutions.”
Belle and Willow came
to the Houston Zoo as cubs, freshly plucked by federal officials from behind a restaurant in California.
The baby bears appeared to be orphaned, said Kevin Hodge, zoo general curator, and were being fed by restaurant patrons.
Ice cream and other sinful goodies humans preferred by humans are not an appropriate diet for black bears — especially babies — so Houston happily took them in. This is the primary way U.S. zoos bring new black bears into their exhibits, Hodge said, adding that they generally don't breed the species because there is such a need to care for those orphaned in the wild.
Five years after Belle and Willow arrived, they weigh about 300 pounds each and have shared an exhibit since they arrived in 2013.
Now, that space is triple the size, complete with three pools that are chilled year round to a perfect 75 degrees (there used to be only one, non-chilled pool), two caves, as well as more shady trees and climbing structures.
But Hodge said the zoo has no plans to take in more bears.
“Right now, we have more than enough room for the two bears, but we’re not quite ready for a third yet,” Hodge said. “They get along great, so we don’t want to mess with that.”
Reduced roaming
The North American black bear once roamed freely across large swaths of land, from Alaska and northern Canada, through the U.S., to northern Mexico.
But unregulated hunting and habitat loss have greatly reduced the number of these 300-pound predators in the wild, especially in Texas.
By the time the U.S. Department of Agriculture did its first survey of Texas mammals between 1890 and 1904, black bears had been over exploited for more than 50 years and were in serious decline, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
“The late 19th century saw a drastic decline of populations across Texas, and by the advent of the 20th century, black bears were considered rare throughout the state,” according to the Texas Black Bear Alliance, the nonprofit coalition made up of state, federal and industrial officials working to restore the state’s black bear population.
In fact, Bumpus said there were less than 20 confirmed sightings of the omnivores last year in the Lone Star State.
The vast majority of sightings are in east Texas, where bears have roamed across state lines from Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. The only bears who live year round in Texas are in Big Bend National Park, Hodge said, and they only number about 50.
Conservationists think they can get more black bears to stay in Texas year round by getting the word out to land owners and industry leaders, especially in east Texas.
“It all depends on the bears deciding its safe,” Hodge said. “We have areas like the Big Thicket that are good, protected habitats. We just have to make them feel comfortable.”
The state currently enforces laws barring the illegal taking of bears, as well as monitors sightings and deaths. It also researches food habitats and habitat selection.
Don’t shoot or feed them
And this is where the zoo’s outreach becomes important. They’ve made metal signs that state officials can post throughout east Texas urging people not to shoot or feed bears. Those signs also provide information about how to report bear sightings so officials can understand where and how the bears are migrating.
The zoo, along with the state, are part of the alliance, which helps east Texas landowners and visitors understand how to interact with bears: making loud noises when hiking, for example, and having bear proof trashcans. These trashcans can stand up to repeated chewing and clawing, and also have a mechanism that prevents bears from getting inside.
Houston Zoo officials don’t know how long it will take, but they’re confident they can bring the black bear population back to Texas.
“We have to get the message out that people should report bear sightings and don’t try to feed bears,” Hodge said. “The space is there, we just have to keep doing what we’re doing over time.”