{"id":10719,"date":"2026-09-08T17:03:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T17:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/?p=10719"},"modified":"2026-09-08T17:03:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T17:03:45","slug":"alabama-black-bear-sightings-increase-as-populations-grow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/2026\/09\/08\/alabama-black-bear-sightings-increase-as-populations-grow\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama black bear sightings increase as populations grow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION<\/a>) \u2014 A rise in black bear<\/a> sightings in Pike County have been seen on social media leading to the question: are black bars on the rise in Alabama?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black bears may occasionally be spotted around the Troy area, but that does not mean they have established a permanent population nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Alvin Diamond, a biology and environmental science professor at Troy University, said bears seen around Troy are most likely traveling between other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe frequently have bears that move through the area, but we don\u2019t have resident bears,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cThey\u2019re just passing through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alabama has two primary black bear populations. One is located around the Mobile-Tensaw Delta in south Alabama and extends into the Florida Panhandle. The other is found in northeast Alabama and stretches toward the Smoky Mountains and north Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Female bears generally occupy smaller territories than males. When young female bears leave their mothers, they often settle nearby, while young males travel farther in search of territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TOP STORIES: Upcoming roadwork aims to make problematic intersection safer<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen a bear has young, when those reach a certain age, the females usually will establish a territory adjacent to the mother\u2019s territory, and it will often include a part of her territory,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cMales kind of get kicked out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This movement can bring bears into areas without established populations. Diamond said residents who photograph a bear or capture one on a game camera can report the encounter through Alabama\u2019s black bear sighting website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe number of sightings and the places within the state where the sightings have occurred has been increasing as these populations get larger,\u201d Diamond said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although a bear sighting may frighten some residents, Diamond said Alabama\u2019s black bears are shy and generally try to avoid people. Bears may enter yards when residents leave garbage, pet food or other easy food sources outside. They may also enter chicken coops for chickens and eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of Rena Stewart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Courtesy of Rena Stewart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not interested in eating you,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cUnless you threaten them, they\u2019re going to try to get away from you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black bears eat foods ranging from blackberries and persimmons to insects, snakes and small mammals. Their broad diet allows them to help control animal populations and carry plant seeds into new areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey help to disperse the seeds of the plants they eat,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cWhen their meal passes through their body, the seeds are deposited in a different area, so they help spread plants around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diamond said bears also represent the importance of preserving wild spaces. Protecting land through state parks, national forests and other conservation areas gives bears and other wildlife places to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA bear\u2019s not something you see every day,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cWhen you see a bear, it\u2019s really a special feeling. And it\u2019s important that we still have those sorts of places where you can have those types of experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents can also protect bears by remaining alert while driving, especially on rural roads at night. Diamond said vehicle collisions are among the largest causes of death for bears and other wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust be mindful, slow down, make sure that you\u2019re not going too fast and can\u2019t stop,\u201d Diamond said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be a bad day for you and the bear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can report black bear sightings via the Alabama Wildlife Federation’s website<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) \u2014 A rise in black bear sightings in Pike County have been seen on social media leading to the question: are black bars on the rise in Alabama?<\/p>\n

Black bears may occasionally be spotted around the Troy area, but that does not mean they have established a permanent population nearby.<\/p>\n

Dr. Alvin…<\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":10736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1125],"tags":[3264,3263,3265],"topics":[1588],"class_list":["post-10719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-alabama-wildlife-federation","tag-black-bears","tag-black-bears-in-pike-county","topics-local-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10719"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10735,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10719\/revisions\/10735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10719"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.troy.edu\/trojanvision\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=10719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}