07/30/2026
Another Black Bear sighting around Lula. Thanks to Jeb Bailey for this photo. Please find additional information on black bears in Oklahoma. At the bottom is a link to BearWise a great resource on bears.
Eastern Oklahoma is home to two growing populations of black bears that have been expanding and dispersing westward out of Arkansas for more than 20 years. The larger population is well established in and around the Ouachita Mountain range in the southeast, and the much smaller population resides in some of the favorable habitat found in the Ozark Mountain range in the Northeast. While naturally very shy of humans and urban areas, bears will sometimes travel many miles when searching for food, mates, or new territory, and can wind up in some unexpected places.
On July 21, 2026, a bear sighting was reported near Lula, OK close to the Coal/Pontotoc County line. This location is on the western edge of the population’s range and not a high bear density area. However, it is typical for juvenile males to be displaced by dominant males during the late spring/early summer breeding activity and travel great distances to find new territory.
Most bear sightings are in some way food related and occur in the spring and summer months. While bears are omnivores and will eat almost anything with calories, their diet consists of mostly plants. After spending about 3 months in the den without eating, bears are emerging and leaving their dens in April with a lot of winter weight loss to regain. Later in May and June adult males are traveling for miles to breed, juveniles are dispersing from their mothers, and nursing sows are working hard for extra calories to produce milk for cubs. In July and August, as vegetation begins to wither from the seasonal heat and reduction of regular rainfall, bears are easily susceptible to anthropogenic (human provided) food sources.
Bears have an amazing sense of smell and can easily detect natural food sources as well as unnatural food opportunities such as trash containers, corn feeders, bird feeders, or pet food left on the porch.
When bears are lured in by these temptations, it can at first seem like a positive encounter. The bear receives a charitable hand out, and the property owner gets a cool story and photo opportunity.
However, bears can easily become habituated to these types of easy food sources and can lose their natural wariness of people as they begin to associate the sights, smells, and sounds of people with the free snack. When this happens, there is potential for human/bear conflict. We have learned that relocating a habituated bear does not erase the bear’s memory of the free food, nor does the bear typically adopt the new location. In most cases, even after being moved many miles away, they return to their home territory within a few days.
The most effective way to manage human/bear conflict is through prevention by securing attractants that might draw a hungry bear out of the woods and into the yard. Simple practices like not leaving excess pet food or full trash containers sitting out overnight, cleaning your outdoor grill, and shutting down feeders during the summer are some of the best ways to keep bears from developing harmful habits and avoiding a detrimental experience for both the bear and property owner.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is a member of an education and outreach organization called BearWise that is dedicated to helping people live safely and responsibly with bears.
Check out their website and page for more tips and tricks to help make your property a safer place for everyone.
https://bearwise.org/
https://www.facebook.com/BearWise.org
