Could black bears make a comeback in their native Texas habitat? Here’s what we know.

It’s difficult to visualize these days, what with the light pollution, overdevelopment and sprawl that have come to define the greater Houston area, but the ground we now stand on was once the domain of 5’ 6” black bears.

Specifically, the Louisiana black bear subspecies ( Ursus americanus luteolus ). Sam Houston hunted them from his cabin in Montgomery in the 1850s. In Nacogdoches, a feast of bear meat was held during the Texas Revolution. In Conroe, builders had to shoot at black bears disrupting the 1891 construction of the courthouse.

But, if you haven’t noticed, there aren’t many of our native black bears around these days.

The black bears native to east Texas have experienced a habitat reduction of 80 percent due to property fragmentation, deforestation and unregulated sport hunting. As a result, their numbers in east Texas have dwindled to zero.

That matters because as apex predators, the bears once played an essential role in the balance of the east Texas ecosystem. Were they around, they might be keeping the exploding populations of deer and rampaging feral hogs in check.

That’s where the Texas Black Bear Alliance (TBBA) comes in. The nonprofit organization is working with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) to explore eventually bringing black bears back to east Texas.

They estimate that through their efforts, the bears could be reintroduced here within the next 20 years.

“Bears are in Big Bend. They came over when Mexico was having a drought. They came in search of food, and now they have shade, which is fabulous,” said TBBA president Ellen Buchanan. “We’re hoping that that happens here … If bears don’t come themselves to east Texas, [TBBA and TPWD will] facilitate bringing bears back.”

Bringing back the bears

Reintroducing the black bear to east Texas is a complex undertaking, one that entails public education initiatives (since the natural response might be to freak out), ecological stewardship and decades of patience.

“It would be many, many years for natural recolonization,” said Kati Krouse, secretary of TBBA, which is why human-facilitated reintroduction is on the table, even though it will be expensive.

If the bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2023 passes, that could potentially help finance the effort: it would give the states and territories up to $1.4 billion a year to implement their “wildlife action plans.” Krouse notes that the money could help with funding a bear specialist at TPWD to help recruit volunteers and raise funding alongside TBBA.

But even with that boost in funding, the state of Texas may have other wildlife priorities besides the black bear. West Texas species like the black-footed ferret, kangaroo rat and swift fox may constitute higher preservation priorities, said Krouse.

Ironically, the success of other states to protect the black bear now may make it harder for Texas to protect them. The Louisiana black bear was removed from the federal list of Threatened and Endangered Species in 2016 thanks to successful protection efforts in Louisiana and Mississippi – even though it is still endangered to the point of nonexistence in east Texas. As a result, the bear is no longer protected under the Endangered Species Act, despite being endangered in Texas.

Dana Karelus, Ph.D., serves as a state mammal specialist in TPWD’s Nongame & Rare Species Program . She’s worked alongside TBBA for two years to help envision a future for black bears in east Texas.

The re-emergence of Mexican black bears in Big Bend National Park has excited Dr. Karelus and her fellow biologists, especially since human intervention was not involved. It may serve as a blueprint for what their cousins may experience once a reintroduction plan is finalized and implemented.

TBBA and TPWD have a list of criteria for what a successful Louisiana black bear population will look like in east Texas, mirroring the Big Bend miracle.

“Ideally, that would mean a population that is not decreasing,” Dr. Karelus said. “It means that on their own, that population can persist into the future without help from people and be able to replace natural deaths … new cubs are born and genetics are healthy.”

She can’t give an exact number of what the ideal black bear population will look like, just that “it depends on the habitat that's available” and the general “density of bears” in a given area.

As with all other aspects of this Herculean undertaking, it’s going to take a lot of science and even more patience to restore black bears — and, subsequently, east Texas’ very ecology — to a rightful position in nature.

“Bear aware” but not scared

That’s why education is the nonprofit’s current focus. TBBA workshops and lectures aim to erode some of the fear people have around these bears. They approach the subject with the philosophy that forewarned is forearmed, to help empower citizens to ask questions and prepare themselves for an eventual new normal.

“Bears are going to stay in the thick of the woods. I always tell people, ‘Leave no trace when you go camping, fishing, hiking, whatever,’ because the bears don't have the opportunity to taste that,” said Krouse. “It's very important that we don't create these ‘nuisance’ bears from the beginning. We want to be at the forefront and educating people before [the bears] even come.”

But what does it mean to be “bear aware,” exactly?

At their educational events, TBBA leaders point out that most bears will run and hide from the din of humans. Krouse estimates that 98 percent of conflicts are the result of people who just don’t know how to live alongside bears as opposed to anything inherently vicious to the animals’ nature. And in the event they get too close, Krouse said they can be warded off with bear spray or a bop to the nose from a walking stick. Obeying signs marking bear territory, listening to park rangers, and knowing how to identify fresh tracks and scat (feces) can also help outdoorsy types from encountering nearby bears in the first place.

She also brings along a life-size cutout of the species to illustrate its size, and deter imaginations from conjuring something even bigger.

According to TPWD’s website , “Black bears are not as dangerous as some people think. … And like most animals, they will seldom approach people.” Nevertheless, Krouse suggests that hikers and other outdoors enthusiasts travel in groups, make plenty of noise while out and about, and carry a long walking stick and bear spray.

In addition, like raccoons, bears are opportunistic feeders. Bear-proof trash cans, proper food storage and clean campsites can ensure that bears don’t develop a potentially dangerous hankering for human foods.

Part of the education addresses the benefits of reintroducing bears.

“[Bears] are what's considered an indicator species. If the bear population is doing well, that means the whole ecology of that habitat is doing well.” Krouse said. “They're the biggest propagator. As they walk along, they're pooping out seeds from plants that they eat. So they're planting native species and helping with potential erosion.”

TBBA’s push for “bear aware” education also extends to plans for teaching children.

“We hope in the future to have a bear curriculum for fourth graders,” Buchanan said. “Start with one school as a pilot, see how that works… If we were to educate a whole lot of fourth graders in east Texas for twenty years, then you would have folks who understood bears.”

She points out that fourth grade makes for the ideal time to begin their lessons on living in communion with bears, both because the students possess the cognitive faculties to process and retain their lessons and because they are likely to be the first generation of adults to contend with bear reintroduction, since the actual animals may not show up for twenty years.

Little pushback so far

For now, TBBA’s education and community outreach efforts seem to be putting attendees at ease. And organization representatives say they haven’t received much in the way of pushback from east Texans who know of the plan.

“We did receive an email from someone in Longview, and she did not want bears released in Longview. Of course, bears would never be introduced around a city,” Buchanan said.

Bears will travel 40 miles a day in search of food, friends or water sources, Krouse explained. As the bird flies, some of the forested areas in east Texas are about 80 miles from downtown Houston. But Krouse added that the bears are not likely to ever head into Houston’s city limits unless something goes very wrong with their habitats and they have to edge into human territories to feed.

“Reintroduction would occur only after much resource study and human dimension studies to find the best-protected natural areas for the bears and humans,” assured Buchanan. “It will probably take 20 years of study before bears are reintroduced. That is where our outreach and education comes in, to help reduce any opposition.”

The lack of protest may also be attributable to the fact that many, if not most, east Texans are unaware that a black bear reintroduction plan is in the works.

“It's going to take us a long time to get bears back,” Buchanan said. “But maybe in 100 years there will be a large enough population. So that's looking very positive.”