Originally published on December 15, 2020 5:19 pm
Black bears once thrived in Missouri, but habitat changes and logging by European settlers in the late 1800s drastically decreased their population. As Laura Conlee of the Missouri Department of Conservation puts it: “The numbers just kept dwindling. And we got to a point here in the state where we really thought that the bear population was extirpated, so they were driven to local extinction.”
Now, black bears are making a tremendous comeback in the Show-Me State. The animal’s resurgence, primarily due to the efforts of Missouri’s neighbors to the south, even has state regulators planning a short black bear hunting season.
MDC BEAR-HUNTING FRAMEWORK APPROVED BY CONSERVATION COMMISSION
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Black bear hunting season in Missouri moves closer to reality
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