Multiple sightings of black bears have been reported this month across East Texas.
Sightings have been confirmed in Cherokee, Anderson, Panola and Rusk counties, Texas Parks and Wildlife said Thursday. The closest to North Texas is Anderson County, roughly 110 miles southeast of Dallas.
Although black bears are native to Texas, parks officials said East Texas is not home to a resident population of black bears. The bear — or bears — likely came from a neighboring state.
“This time of year, young bears are leaving their mothers and may end up in unusual places,” the agency said in a news release.
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Black bears are designated as a threatened species in Texas, and it is illegal to kill, injure, capture or transport one. Penalties for doing so include jail time and fines of $12,000.
In a video posted to Facebook, Kati Krouse, vice chair of the Texas Black Bear Alliance, said the bears captured by game cameras appear to be young.
“We don’t know how old. We don’t know how it got here. We don’t know any of that,” Krouse said. “As you know, East Texas is thick and perfect bear habitat, and so it could have come from anywhere.”
Texas parks authorities said bears are not typically aggressive but should be left alone. If you see a bear, the agency said to remain calm, stay far away, do not run and never attempt to feed or restrain it.
Bears once roamed Texas, but a combination of unregulated hunting and loss of habitat caused them to virtually disappear by the mid-1940s. Bears now live around Guadalupe Mountains National Park and in Big Bend National Park.