After decades of overhunting, black bears are slowly recolonizing the lower Mississippi River basin

After decades of overhunting and habitat loss, black bears are slowly recolonizing the lower Mississippi River basin

A black bear with tags in its ears lounges on a tree branch in Tennessee. Black bears were once common across the basin, but overhunting and habitat changes diminished the population, leaving most of the remaining bears in mountainous and other remote regions. Now, black bear sightings are increasing in many parts of the basin.

After decades of overhunting, black bears are slowly recolonizing the lower Mississippi River basin

Black bears are typically associated with forest and mountainous habitats, but were once abundant throughout the southeast, including in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and the Atchafalaya Basin. (Courtesy of Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency)On the Fourth of July, a picture of a black bear sitting on the edge of a Tennessee cornfield sparked a social media flurry. It was the beginning of a deluge. Over the next month, bears would be recorded …