Watch: Tracking Arkansas bears to new territory

Black bears (Ursus americanus) were once nearly extirpated from Arkansas, but their population has rebounded. Now bears are expanding into new territory along the Gulf coastal plane in southern Arkansas, and state biologists are conducting den surveys and using GPS tracking collars to better understand them. Biologists have deployed 15 GPS collars to give them more information about home ranges and habitat use, both of which seem to be unique compared to bears in other parts of the state. “Their habitat use is completely different than it is in the mountains,” said Myron Means, of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Managers plan to gather hair for genetic studies and blood for banking to give them even more information.

Watch the video from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission below.