Recently, an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Certified Wildlife Biologist spoke to the Drew County Rotary Club regarding the black bear population in the area.
Marks Hooks, a Supervisor of Wildlife Management with AGFC, addressed the Gulf Coastal Plain Bear Project that began more than two decades ago.
“The objectives of the Gulf Coastal Plain Bear Project have been targeted at monitoring black bear population densities, health, reproduction, and denning chronology specifically in South Arkansas,” Hooks stated. “While this project has been ongoing since the summer of 2022, the road to this point really began in 2000 when the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission collaborated with several partners to translocate female bears with cubs to the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge near Crossett, Arkansas. From 2000 through 2008, 55 adult female bears and 116 cubs were moved from the Dale Bumpers/White River National Wildlife Refuge to the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge.”
At the conclusion of the Rotary meeting, I asked, almost jokingly, if there was a chance for a member of the Advance-Monticellonian team to accompany AGFC officers the next time a bear in the area was going to be monitored. To my pleasant surprise, Mark Hooks agreed to allow us to experience the once in a lifetime opportunity to be up close and personal with a black bear in its natural habitat.
We had a briefing about the expectations of the day, which included information about why the bears were relocated to this area to begin with.
When the signal from the bear’s tag came in, a small group including Hooks, a Veterinarian, and other experienced members of the team, entered the dense woods just off of the highway to locate the tagged sow.
The first team’s objective was to locate the den and subdue the sow in order to safely sedate her while the Veterinarian made sure she and the cubs were healthy.
After approximately 20 minutes, the rest of the group was taken through layers of briars and cold mud around a half a mile into the woods. Faint sounds of small cries were heard, then the three cubs were presented to the group.
We backed into an opening among the trees as the approximately five-week-old triplets were wrapped in blankets and gently passed to us from the AGFC officers.
Hooks explained that the cubs will stay with the mother through the summer and winter in her next den cycle. When they emerge around this time next year, the male cubs will be released from the den to find their own “territory” and to begin adult life and hopefully, establish breeding patterns.
Female bears can begin breeding as early as three years old but typically wait until they are closer to five. According to Hooks, the average lifespan of a female bear in the proper conditions is 25 to 30 years.
