Arkansas bears: A successful reintroduction
Did you know that Arkansas was known as “The Bear State” back in the 1800s? In fact, it is believed that in the neighborhood of 50,000 black bears roamed within the perimeters of the state during the 1800s.
But with the arrival of European settlers came an alarming decline in the bear population. Their meat, furs and fat were a great commodity. And, in turn, they were hunted and harvested by the droves, to the point that only a handful remained, in comparison to the huge numbers that had previously called Arkansas home.
In 1927, the Legislature made bear hunting illegal in Arkansas, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission embarked upon a 10-year relocation project beginning in 1958, bringing 234 bears into the state from Canada and Minnesota, releasing them into the Ouachita and Ozark Mountain regions.
Those involved could hardly have expected a better outcome. The population flourished to a point that bear seasons were opened in these two particular regions of the state in 1980.
The success of the reintroduction was hardly a result of simply turning a few bears out and wishing for the best. Many hours of studies were conducted prior to the initial release and the AGFC is still gathering data today.
Much of their essential information is gathered via bear den surveys. After trapping adult sows, they attach radio collars and release them back to the wild. In turn, the biologists benefit from the ability to locate their den sites and gather data from these bears during their annual hibernations.
So what kind of information do they acquire during these excursions? And how do their efforts benefit the state’s bear population?
Of course, they first get a better understanding of their denning habits. As it turns out, they are very opportunistic when it comes to choosing the spots where they will spend the winter and give birth to their young. And these environments change drastically throughout each region of the state.
It is not uncommon for bears in our neck of the woods to den in nothing more than a stump hole or even in a large nest of leaves piled in a thicket, or at the base of a tree.
Bears in the Ozarks might also be found wintering in comparable accommodations. However, the jagged substrate of the Ozarks also provides a plethora
of small caves and crevices that they are apt to take advantage of, as well.
Bears in the Delta have literally been known to den high in large hollow trees, in areas that will flood during the winter months. And they will remain in their dens until the water subsides.
But their denning habits are just a drop in the bucket compared to the information the biologists obtain. In fact, the agency’s main objective of the den site surveys is determining the reproductive success of the females they are monitoring, which will ultimately give them an idea of how the bear population is faring overall.
The agency has 62 adult females collared throughout the state at present, all of whom they monitor for annual reproductive rates and the survival rate of their offspring.
One might ask why this information is so important. Of course, such data is essential in the management of any wildlife species, but bears have a twoyear breeding cycle. Although three are hardly uncommon, they most often give birth to two cubs. In turn, the numbers produced throughout an adult sow’s lifetime is far less than most animals native to the state.
Their breeding period is typically from May into early July. Interestingly, the number of offspring they produce is determined by a process called embryonic diapause. Also referred to as delayed implantation, the embryonic blastocyst does not attach to the uterine wall immediately after breeding.
Instead, the eggs remain detached and free-floating in the uterus for a period of time until it is determined how many the sow can support as a result of her overall physical condition. The egg will implant on the uterine wall in the fall, prior to her hibernation period, when she actually gives birth to her young, typically in mid to late January.
The den surveys are also crucial in determining the survival rate of cubs. The cubs remain in the den for the next three to four months until they are strong enough to climb trees and do other bear stuff. They then strike out with mom on short excursions, beginning their life lessons and learning how to forage.
They will remain with the sow throughout the fall and summer months. However, she will send them out to fend for themselves during the following spring. The sow allows her female young to remain in her territory. However, she drives the juvenile males away, not allowing them to remain in her home range.
I recently had the opportunity to tag along with a team of AGFC bear biologists during one of their den surveys. Of course, nothing more than the opportunity to see bears from such an up-close perspective was exciting to me. However, the agency also likely found the outing of importance, as the bear they were studying was one of the first they have collared in the Gulf Coastal Plain section of the state.
She chose to hibernate and rear her young in the midst of a dense thicket. And although several months will pass until the biologists visit her again, I am hopeful they will allow me to tag along, and follow the success of this particular sow and her three beautiful cubs.