if (!document.MAX_used) document.MAX_used = ','; document.write ("'><\/scr"+"ipt>"); And it seems that every year, at least one of them produces twins. They live in the states many large tracts of dense, unpopulated forests. They are considered a protected species in the state, and it is illegal to hunt or trap them. Bear hunting in Marylandwill only be open for six days this December 2022, and hunting teams are only allowed to harvest one bear. Least Concern Extinct. Bears occasionally roam through the Black Hills, but there is no resident bear population. Oregon black bears are known to come in conflict with residents. The Louisiana black bear is the states national mammal and a conservation success story. Before management efforts and the increasing availability of forest land, bears were not federally protected during the 1800s, causing their population to decline, along with loss of habitat. Like the ones at Great Smoky Mountains, black bears in Glacier Bay enter dens during the winter if there is little to no food available. There are no recent records of the American black bear in eastern Nebraska; however, Iowa wildlife officials had 5 sightings of bears in the western part of the state during 2008. However, theyre now classified as big game and hunters are required to submit harvests through the state for physical inspection. In the summer, they fish for spawning salmon in Alaskas rivers. Black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains also eat insects and animal carcasses when they are available. DNR wildlife officials had hoped that slashing the number of permits issued to bear hunters, beginning in 2012, would allow the bear population to recover, but the population in the quota zone hasnt shown much growth despite several years of historically low bear permits. By the 1920s, only 25 bears remained in the entire state. They were categorized as predatory animals giving citizens free reign to shoot or trap them. What US states have grizzly bears? However, there have been recent black bear sightings in states with no known black bear breeding populations due to wandering bears from neighboring states. document.write ("