{"id":424711,"date":"2026-09-03T05:16:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T05:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/424711\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T05:16:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T05:16:15","slug":"neches-river-black-bear-returns-to-east-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/424711\/","title":{"rendered":"Neches River black bear returns to East Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

TYLER, Texas (KETK<\/a>) – A lone young black bear is once again roaming near the Neches River in search of a habitat. East Texas wildlife experts advise people to avoid interaction with the bear and to remain careful when hunting.<\/p>\n

\u00a0PHOTO: Wandering black bear returns to East Texas bigger and stronger\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

The Neches River black bear first appeared on East Texans’ radar last year when he was sighted several times across East Texas. Reuben Gay with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) said the sub-adult male is once again popping up on security cameras.<\/p>\n

“This summer it’s really just been hanging out on both sides of the Neches River in Anderson and Cherokee County,” Gay said.<\/p>\n

A full year older and several pounds heavier, the bear is taking advantage of deer feeders as it works to build up its size for the coming winter.<\/p>\n

“I’m saying somewhere between 100 to 200 pounds,” Gay said. “He’s been going to feeders and sometimes knocks them over; he might take the spinner off.”<\/p>\n

Gay said with hunting seasons fast approaching it’s important that people do their best to leave him alone.<\/p>\n

“We’re encouraging people not to be aggressive with it, give it respect and space,” Gay said.<\/p>\n

Gay wants people to know that small black bears can easily be mistaken for other animals like feral hogs.<\/p>\n

“Bears are going to be moving their heads likely not going to be on the ground the entire time, smaller heads compared to a feral hog,” Gay said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0East Texas black bear makes another appearance in Anderson County\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Mammals 2 Supervisor at Caldwell Zoo Ricki Roemer said if you happen to cross paths with a bear to try encouraging them to leave before using deterrents like bear spray.<\/p>\n

“Usually as long as your kind of backing away or if you make yourself big and scary they usually don’t bother you,” Roemer said.<\/p>\n

It’s important to remember that wild bears are usually more scared of you then you are of them.<\/p>\n

“Usually just kind of staying put and letting them go along their way,” Roemer said.<\/p>\n

TPWD said hunting black bears can be met with a $10,000 fine and encourages people to contact their local department if they see one.<\/p>\n

You can now stream KETK and FOX51 News live 24\/7 on your smart TV\u00a0with KETK+<\/a>,\u00a0our brand-new app! No antenna, cable, or satellite needed\u2014watch for free, anytime.\u00a0Just download it on your Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV and start streaming.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TYLER, Texas (KETK) – A lone young black bear is once again roaming near the Neches River in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424712,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[15943,147697,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-424711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-anderson","tag-roemer","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424711\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}