Saving the Louisiana Black Bear

There is some good news in the nature world. Saving the Louisiana black bear, a species that is currently considered threatened, may be possible if conditions remain stable, the US Geological Survey revealed Wednesday in a new study.

Along with alligators and brown pelicans, black bears could also be one of the state's iconic species to recover. According to the study, things are looking up for the animals that inspired teddy bears, with findings suggesting they will survive for another century.

"We're super excited," Maria Davidson, head of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told The Associated Press (AP).

Led by associate professor Joseph Clark of the University of Tennessee, and his colleague Jared Laufenberg, the research team found that bear numbers jumped from a sparse 80-120 in the 1950s to 450-600 animals today.

In order to learn the movements of the Louisiana black bear - mostly to determine whether or not populations were inbreeding, which can hinder recovery - Clark's team used barbed wire to (harmlessly) snag hair from live bears around the state, from 2002-2012, to study their DNA.

The study showed that almost one-third of today's bears are in the lower Atchafalaya River Basin in south Louisiana, while over 10 to 15 percent are in an area located northwest of Baton Rouge called the Upper Atchafalaya River Basin.

Researchers also said that in the 2000s, almost 48 female bears and 104 cubs were moved from Tensas into central Louisiana in order to bridge a gap between the upper Atachafalaya basin and the small stock northwest of Baton Rouge.

Clark and his colleagues could not be more hopeful for these cuddly omnivores, especially after extensive habitat loss and hunting by humans drove it to being an endangered species.

Paul Davidson, executive director of the Black Bear Conservation Coalition, however, is a little skeptical.

"I might question some of the assumptions, but overall, it represents a very good study," he told the AP.

Louisiana black bears, one of 16 sub-species of American black bears, are the smallest bears found in the United States. Though there are just three core populations left in Louisiana, the state's Department of Wildlife and Fisheries notes, these mammals once ranged in parts of Mississippi, Arizona and Texas as well.