Black bears provide sportsmen new hunting opportunity, challenge

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Oct. 1 marks the opening of Oklahoma's first black bear archery season in Latimer, LeFlore, McCurtain and Pushmataha counties in southeast Oklahoma.
            “Any sportsman or sportswoman that has ever wanted to hunt an Oklahoma bruin should be very excited about the upcoming first ever black bear season in Oklahoma,” said Jeff Ford, southeast region wildlife biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
            Black bears once ranged across North America, including the entire area of what is now Oklahoma, but by the early 1900s, sightings had become rare. Factors like urban development, unregulated hunting and habitat fragmentation caused black bear numbers to eventually decline drastically. 
            In the late 1900s, however, black bears began making a comeback in Oklahoma after the successful reintroduction of black bears in the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. That initial relocation of about 250 bears from northern Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada, turned into thousands of bears in the mountains of Arkansas, which then expanded into southwest Missouri and eastern Oklahoma. Viewed as one of the most successful reintroductions of large carnivores in the world, this successful reestablishment of black bears led to a renewed black bear hunting season in Arkansas in 1980. 
            Today bears have a growing population in southeast Oklahoma and are an important part of the state's wildlife diversity. Biologists with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation have collected more than 15 years of biological data and information from responding to nuisance bear calls. Additional research projects were conducted by the Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit with Oklahoma State University, and results show Oklahoma can sustain a bear season to address nuisance bear issues while creating new opportunities for sportsmen.
            The bear archery season will run from Oct. 1 through Oct. 23 or until the season quota of 20 bears has been met. If the season quota is not met during bear archery season, black bear muzzleloader season will open Oct. 24 and run through Nov. 1 or until the season quota is met. Hunters must check by phone or online at wildlifedepartment.com before hunting each day to see if the quota has been reached. Once the quota of 20 bears is reached, the season will close. The use of dogs is prohibited, and baiting is prohibited on wildlife management areas. 
            Ford said weather conditions are right for the start of bear season, and sportsmen looking for an approach to hunting bears should look what bears are looking for — food. 
            “The above average rainfall and below average temperatures during August has helped to ensure there will be an abundance of acorns and soft mast, such as poke berries, wild grapes and persimmons — food's on which black bears rely to put on a thick layer fat for winter,” Ford said. “With white oak acorns falling first, concentrating on areas along ridge tops would be a good place to do some early scouting.”
            Ford also said hunters should scout areas near where timber harvest has occurred, since plants and trees that produce soft mast thrive in such locations. Additionally, Ford said finding a watering hole near a food source can increase a hunter's chance for success.
            To hunt black bears in Oklahoma, resident hunters must possess a hunting license and, if their hunting license was purchased prior to July 1, a fishing and hunting legacy permit. Additionally, resident bear hunters must possess a bear license. Nonresident bear hunters are exempt from a hunting license while hunting bear but must possess a nonresident bear license.
            Lifetime license holders are not exempt from the purchase of a bear license. Bear licenses for the archery season must be purchased prior to Oct. 1 and bear licenses for the muzzleloader season must be purchased by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 23. An unfilled bear archery license will be valid for the bear muzzleloader season if the season quota of 20 bears has not been reached. Once the quota has been reached, the season has closed. 
            Extra Wildlife Department personnel will be available in the four-county hunt area during the first five days of the bear season to help check in bear harvests, visit with sportsmen, and to help ensure compliance of bear hunting regulations. Wildlife Department personnel will collect biological data from each bear harvested, including a tooth for age determination and specific size measurements. Additionally, bears harvested may be subject to forensic analysis to ensure legal means of harvest were observed. The Wildlife Department also will work in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service to establish several hunter check points throughout the hunt area for checking bear hunters.
 
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