A lot of sightings of black bears the last couple of weeks in the mid-state area, and TWRA officials expect even more as the bears look to reclaim territory.
Lee Maddox: Expanding Bear Population: Hello and welcome again everyone for Tennessee Home and Farm Radio. I'm Lee Maddox
Dan Gibbs: Bears have slowly reclaiming their, their former territory.
Lee Maddox: A lot of sightings of black bears the last couple of weeks in the mid state area. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's Black Bear Coordinator, Dan Gibbs,
Dan Gibbs: We started getting reports about two weeks ago of a bear sighting and Lewis County. We had some reports I believe in the Marshall County area maybe Bedford then Maury and Williamson and then so the one that's gotten the most attention is the one that was in South Nashville. The last I got on that one it seems like that bear is found his way over into Rutherford county now
Lee Maddox: Dan Gibbs says these sightings which are now more frequent with more security and wildlife cameras now in place are only natural for the bears to look to explore and reclaim where they once were prevalent.
Dan Gibbs: Tennessee historically the entire state had black bears from one end to the other. The Mississippi River bottoms and Tennessee River bottoms and all those areas held a lot of bear
Lee Maddox: Gibbs says folks in East Tennessee had been more accustomed to black bear sightings in recent years. And he says a lot of information can be found at bearwise.org to help residents and landowners know what to expect and how to react when these encounters occur.
Dan Gibbs: If you hear about a bear in the area, you need to take down bird feeders that you may have out secure trash by either taking it to convenience center or try to store it in a garage or something like that and and get your pet food up. Don't feed pets outside. If people do those three simple things. The bear may move through their through their property, but if he finds no reason to hang around to keep moving,
Lee Maddox: And Gibbs says black bears rarely become aggressive when encountered and again for more detailed info visit bearwise.org for Tennessee Home and Farm Radio, I'm Lea Maddox
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