Status of the black bear in Big Bend National Park, Texas
Lobello RL. 1989. Status of the black bear in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Pages 1-5. In Lobello RL (ed): Third Regional Conference of the US-Mexico Border States on Parks and Wildlife. McAllen, Texas. October 26, 1989
The black bear was once a common mammal in the Chisos Mountains of present day Big Bend National Park. From 1900 on through the 1940's predator control and hunting rendered the species extinct as a resident species. The park's 1973 'Mammal Checklist' categorized the black bear as vagrant species straying into the park from Mexico. The first real evidence of black bear repopulating the Chisos was noted in 1969 when a sow with two cubs was observed by a park visitor in the Chisos Basin. Since that time the number of bear reports have steadily increased with a dramatic increase recorded in 1988 and 1989. This report summarizes 88 years of black bear records recorded from the Chisos Mountains and vicinity. Management concerns are addressed.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Lobello, Rick
- Units
- BIBE
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, black bear (Ursus americanus) - Carnivora - Ursidae, Management, Recovery