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State officials report expanding bear sightings, ongoing research and plans for population estimates
Summary
Department staff described growth in Mississippi’s black bear population, ongoing collaring and den‑check research, preliminary population estimates for southwest Mississippi and plans to model a statewide population to inform management decisions and potential harvest.
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks told the legislative Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee that black bear numbers and reported sightings are increasing and that the agency is conducting capture, collaring and den‑check research to estimate population size and inform possible future harvest decisions.
Agency staff said bears are reproducing in Mississippi and that some expansion is driven by both in‑state breeding and spillover from neighboring states. Officials reported that home‑range data suggest Mississippi bears can range over larger areas than in other states — a pattern the agency said is consistent with a population at the leading edge of expansion.
Preliminary population…
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