Black bear populations rising slowly in Mississippi. A hunting season could come in the future

Black bear populations rising gradually in.

Key points

• One-time funding to support secure the program began is being sought through Accelerate Mississippi, Mississippi Land Water and Timber Resource Board, and the Soybean Promotion Board.
• Anthony Ballard, Black Bear Program Leader for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, informed the Senate committee that historically black bears were plentiful in the state.
• If the program were to collect 1, 000 deer in a season, it could provide enough protein for close to 200, 000 meals, McKinley estimated.
• The Senate Committee on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks was advised to wait on a establishing a black bear hunting season.
• The Senate committee additionally heard from William McKinley, Deer Program Coordinator for MDWFP.

Black bear populations rising gradually in Mississippi. A hunting season could come going forward. By: Jeremy Pittari – October 26, 2026.

Notably, the Senate Committee on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks was advised to wait on a establishing a black bear hunting season. They additionally heard a pitch for a program for hunters to share venison with families in need.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks has been advised that as black bear populations in Mississippi growth, the state may need to consider implementation of a hunting season in the coming years. The lawmakers additionally heard a pitch on the creation of a venison sharing program to assist families in need. Black bear populations gradually rise.

Anthony Ballard, Black Bear Program Leader for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, informed the Senate committee that historically black bears were plentiful in the state. In the 1900's hunting black bears for meat, fat and hides led to a population decline in Mississippi.

By 1932, the black bear population in the state was estimated to be only a dozen animals due to overhunting and habitat loss. They are at present on the state's protected species list consequently.

Nevertheless, state and federal regulations now in place have allowed the black bear population to bounce back. In 2012, the population was estimated to be between 150-250. Ballard believes the population is closer to 400-500 bears today, mostly in the western part of the state, along the border of Louisiana where larger populations have been seen.

According to a graphic Ballard shared with lawmakers, some black bears have been spotted along the Gulf Coast as well.

While additionally monitoring the growing population, since most individuals in Mississippi are unaware black bears roam the lands, Ballard stated his agency is tasked with informing the public of their presence. Black bear populations are monitored through hair snares, or traps, that employ barbed wire to collect hair samples. Those samples are then genetically tested to identify individual animals.

"We know they're there. We know there's some population, but it's not a really high number quite yet, " Ballard continued.

While the number has grown to regarding 500 today, Ballard stated the population expansion is slow, in part due to the breeding cycle of the species. Black bears are not capable of breeding until they are between 3 to 5 years old and only procreate every other year, birthing only two to three cubs on average.

"You're dealing with a much smaller reproductive potential as you are with something like white tail deer, " Ballard remarked.

While black bears in that same timeframe have the potential to birth only eight cubs, within six years of breeding, a pair of deer can bring up to 64 deer into a population. According to Ballard, low breeding potential is why over harvesting of black bears should be avoided.

While noting the population is somewhere close to 500, social media posts and news reports can create populations seem much larger. Ballard explained that is due to the mobility of the animals.

In practice, an example Ballard applied was of one animal nicknamed "Pear Bear." The bear earned the nickname as every time the public saw him, it was eating pears under trees. Yet, markings on the bear and other identifying information proved it was the same animal.

"So if you were just an average observer, looking in north Mississippi you would think there were bears growing up out of the ground up there. There's just bears all over the place, but it's actually just this one, " Ballard explained.

Since black bears are at present on the state-protected species list, legislative action to remove them from that list would be required to set a hunting season. Once the population is sizeable enough for that consideration, MDWFP would be tasked with the creation of the specifics of a season, including the number of tags to be issued.

States that reenacted black bear hunting seasons typically waited until the estimated population was regarding 1, 000. As such, Ballard advised the Senate committee that there is no hurry for Mississippi to create a black bear hunting season.

"Time is on our side. The more we wait, the more data we're going to have to be able to justify our management decisions, the more the population is going to build and to able to matter more tags to the public, " Ballard stated.

Waiting additionally allows time to properly educate the public. Since too plenty of bears can be destructive, but at some point there will be a need to establish a season.

When a season is determined to be needed, Ballard suggested setting the start date in mid-December so breeding age females are already in dens. He additionally anticipated the need for weight and gender restrictions, and prohibiting the harvest of sows that have cubs.

"All of those regulations are kind of to steer away from breeding age females and towards adult males, which is what you want to take out of the population without risk of population declines, " Ballard described.

Notably, the Senate committee additionally heard from William McKinley, Deer Program Coordinator for MDWFP. This person pitched the idea of a venison sharing program in the state, called the Mississippi DOEnation Program.

"And don't let the name fool you, we'll take bucks as well. We're not limited to does, " McKinley continued.

Deer hunting is a popular activity in the state, contributing more than $1 billion to the economy through the harvest of 12 million ponds of venison annually. According to McKinley, is enough meat for 48 million meals.

Since hunters typically share their venison with neighbors and friends, a program where hunters could share excess meat with those who need food assistance could convince the state's more than 170, 000 licensed hunters to harvest more deer to cull its ever-growing population.

"It has been increasing at a very rapid rate by an average of over a 100, 000 deer per year for the past five years, " McKinley remarked, adding that meanwhile harvest rates are declining.

Larger populations of deer result in smaller adult body sizes, destruction of private property and crops, and rose potential of deer and vehicle collisions.

Research into why hunters are not harvesting more than one and a half deer annually determined that 33% of hunters do not "have an outlet to donate extra deer carcasses."

"They obtain their one, or their two. They put that in the freezer, they share it with some friends and that's where they stop, " McKinley described.

If a program existed where hunters could share extra deer carcasses, it would provide an outlet to address the state's number one difficulty, hunger. Food banks typically provide the essentials, but do not always have enough protein.

To address that difficulty, McKinley suggested setting up the DOEnation Program. It would involve the employ of refrigerated donation trailers where hunters could donate field-dressed carcasses. Trailers would be parked in areas where communities report high deer damage rates. Once a week, those carcasses would be brought to at present shuttered meat processing facilities at the Hinds Community College and Jones Community College. Both colleges have meat lab facilities that are not being applied due to low enrollment in those programs.

"But yet they have the equipment. We've already spoken with them and with their presidents. They want this to work, " McKinley remarked.

After the trailer is picked up once a week by MWFP personnel, it would be brought to facilities where the meat is tested for CWD before it is processed and ground. Frozen ground venison would then be picked up by the Mississippi Food Network, and distributed to those who need it.

"This is to obtain it kicked off. It will need funding to be sustained over time, " McKinley continued. "This program takes something that Mississippi has too much of and puts it where Mississippi has too little."

To purchase trailers and renovate the college facilities McKinley stated it would require an initial investment of between $500, 000 to $600, 000, with annual costs to maintain the program being much less. Regarding the Author(s).

Jeremy Pittari is a lifelong resident of the Gulf Coast. Born and raised in Slidell, La., he moved to South Mississippi in the early 90s. Jeremy earned an associate in arts from Pearl River Community College and went on to attend the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor's of arts in journalism. A week after Hurricane Katrina, he began an internship as a reporter with the community newspaper in Pearl River County. After graduation, he accepted a full-time position at that news outlet where he covered the recovery process post Katrina in Pearl River and Hancock Counties. For almost 17 years he wrote concerning local administration, education, law enforcement, crime, business and a variety of other topics. Email Jeremy: [email protected].

News Alex Veiga, Associated Press October 22, 2026.

In short, black bear populations rising slowly in Mississippi. A hunting season could come is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.