?^Zkl Zg] [Zrhnl the Louisiana Black Bear Once Roamed the Entire Mississippi River Valley, but Habitat Loss, Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M

May is Egg Month! See page 9 for recipes... VOL. 91, No. 10 www.ldaf.state.la.us May 8, 2008 La. Agriculture & Forestry Today Bears and bayous The Louisiana black bear once roamed the entire Mississippi River Valley, but habitat loss, Commissioner Mike Strain, D.V.M. said Louisiana’s hunting and poaching cut into its numbers and landed the animal on the endangered species flood-stricken farmers may be eligible for low-interest list. Now the bear is making a slow comeback partly due to good timber management from emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA). landowners and the grass roots efforts of the Black Bear Conservation Committee. Strain said eight Louisiana parishes qualify for help under a USDA Secretarial Natural Disaster Designation that set By Sam Irwin dants of that first stuffed bear toy. the reforestation of marginal land. aside emergency loan money for areas affected by flooding By the turn of the 20th century one of Roosevelt later did bag a Louisiana “In the ‘60s and ‘70s a lot of bottom- and excessive rainfall after April 6. the last wild places in the United States black bear near Tallulah at Bear Lake land was cleared for row crop agricul- “It is imperative to get aid to our farmers in the flooded was the bottomland forest of the in 1907. ture,” Dubea said. “If we have the areas as quickly as possible,” Strain said. “The LDAF Mississippi Delta. Whether it be the lure of adding a opportunity now to put that land back anticipated problems with flooding and Governor Jindal Author John Barry wrote in his black bear rug to a hunting lodge floor into trees we’re taking advantage of declared Pointe excellent book on the 1927 Mississippi or the potential profit of farmland, the it.” Coupee a disaster River flood called “Rising Tide” that Louisiana black bear population went Dubea said there are several federal area.” “Too much of the wealth the river had on a serious decline and by 1992 the and state programs that provide incen- Pointe created, the most fertile land in the animal was designated a threatened tive for landowners to put their scrub Coupee Parish is world, remained jungle.” subspecies under the Endangered acreage back into hardwoods and pine. named as the pri- President Teddy Roosevelt, an avid Species Act in 1992. Associate State Forester Louis mary natural dis- outdoorsman and Heaton said the aster area. The hunter was attracted to National neighboring the wilderness of the Resources parishes of Mississippi River Delta Conservation A voyelles, and in November 1902 Service’s Concordia, made a hunting trip to Wetlands Iberville, St. Greenville, Mississippi. Restoration Landry, St. His target? The Program (WRP) Martin, West mighty Louisiana black and Baton Rouge and bear. Conservation West Feliciana Roosevelt’s bear hunt Reserve proved to be a bust. The Program (CRP) are also designat- Mike Strain DVM ed as disaster hounds cornered a bear are good cost- Commissioner areas. in a canebrake, the share plans to Farmers who want to apply for the emergency loans are guide roped and tied it restore bottom- advised to contact their local FSA office for further infor- to a tree. The President land hardwood mation. was granted first shot and help create In another matter, the National Veterinary Services and the first kill of the black bear habi- Laboratories (NVSL) said two cases of malignant catarrhal day, but Roosevelt tat. fever (wildebeest strain) were confirmed in a Texas herd of found this unsporting. These cubs and mother were relocated to the Red River Wildife “The heifers. He refused to shoot the Management Area, a good habitat, but underpopulated with bears. Louisiana “There is no risk to the public or cattle industry,” Strain exhausted bear. Department of said. “I want to stress there is no threat to the food chain or A Washington Post staff artist drew a The Black Bear Conservation Agriculture and Forestry will make public health and anticipate no further action will be need- cartoon of the incident. The comic Committee (BBCC) has been working management recommendations for ed.” showed a toothy Roosevelt turning his hand in hand with landowners to landowners who sign up for the pro- Strain said the cattle herd in question was exposed to a back on a cute bear cub on a leash. (In rebuild bear habitat and boost popula- grams,” Heaton said. “We’ll look at the group of wildebeests at a Texas ranch. The 134 animals actuality, the bear in question was an tions of Ursus americanus luteolus. property and determine what it needs were subsequently sold and later traced to farms and ranch- older 235-pound male.) Nevertheless, Paul Davidson, the committee’s from a forestry standpoint. es in six states. the pen is mightier than the sword and executive director, said replanting mar- “We’ll then recommend a species or Malignant catarrhal fever in cattle is brought on by expo- the widely published cartoon proved so ginal bottomland with hardwoods is multiple species that will match the sure to the alcelaphine herpesvirus (AIHV-1). Wildebeests popular with the public an enterprising one way to create the roaming space a site.” are carriers of the virus but do not display signs of the dis- toy store owner took note. bear needs. The BBCC is an independent region- ease. Morris Michtom, owner of a “We’ve always promoted keeping al non-profit organization partnered A heifer exposed to the wildebeests traced to Louisiana Brooklyn toy store, made a stuffed productive farmland in agriculture,” with the Louisiana Department of died, prompting a necropsy to determine cause of death. bear in honor of the President and dis- Davidson said. “But land that is mar- Wildlife and Fisheries and several Further tests are being performed on the heifer tissue at the played it in his store window. He was ginal, the land that is too wet to plant, other state and federal agencies. The NVSL and results are pending.. flooded with requests for Teddy’s bear we advocate putting that land back into LDWF’s ultimate goal is to build the The disease is spread by wildebeests infected with the and every four-year-old since has been trees.” black bear population large enough for AIHV-1 to cattle. It is rarely transferred from cow to cow. tucked safely in bed next to the descen- State Forester Wade Dubea supports See Bears, continued on page 2 Page 2 MARKET BULLETIN May 8, 2008 Bears, continued from page 1 sanctioned hunts. take time to corroborate our findings.” Basin,” Davidson said. “We think there are ed Maria Davidson and Telesco onto man- “There is a potential the black bear could Davidson estimated there may be more more than 300 bears roaming in that area.” aged land in Avoyelles Parish. A radio sig- be removed from the endangered list within than a thousand black bears roaming the Approximately 460 adult bears have been nal was emitting from a dense pile of logs the next five years,” Davidson said. “We are Lower Mississippi River Valley. trapped and equipped with radio transmitter and tree scrap. Nearby residents confirmed in the middle of three separate three-year “The only current reliable estimates of collars over the last 15 years, Davidson that a bear had been sighted several times studies in various parts of the state. It will bear numbers are for the Tensas River said. during the last hunting season. Every spring, Davidson, LDWF Large “We’ve (Roy O. Martin Timber Co.) been Carnivore Program Manager Maria involved with the BBCC since day one. We Davidson, (Paul’s wife), BBCC biologist have years of credible data that silviculture, David Telesco and other agency personnel proper timber management and bears can track the radio collar homing signals and co-exist,” Clayton said. “Not everyone determine whether the females have had a understands that but the number of bears on winter litter. Females may have up to five our property shows that bears and timber cubs every other year. management can work.” Contracted pilots fly over wooded areas Despite Davidson and Telesco’s best tracking signals and relay the coordinates to efforts, they could not penetrate the wood- the BBCC. Oftentimes the location of a bear is well known to hunting clubs from actual visual sightings and remote video surveillance. Hunting club cameras have been invaluable in ascertaining the bear population growth, Davidson said. “We’re learning a lot from the landowners and hunting clubs from their reports,” Davidson said. Once a signal is pinpointed, a graduate student studying bears travels to the location to determine if cubs are present and whether the bear is accessible. The bear’s den can be high in a hollow tree or buried deep within a dense woodpile. The bear expert listens to the sounds of the mother in her winter den and if cubs are present he’ll hear the babies mewing and whining. If mother bear has delivered cubs, she is tranquilized and the cubs examined and microchipped. Photos courtesy of BBCC Sometimes bears travel outside the nor- mal range of their habitat and become a nui- pile to view the bear. Davidson said they sance to humans. They generally aren’t a would simply mark the transmitter as locat- danger to people but can be subject to the ed and wait until next year. perils of modern civilization, like crossing a “We’ll mark her down as non-reproduc- four-lane highway. The BBCC will then try tive,” Davidson said. to trap the rogue bear and relocate him to Wait until next year is often the case with better suited woodlands.

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