After decades of being cast from the state, American black bears have slowly but steadily returned to Oklahoma’s landscape, including Cimarron County’s Black Mesa region. To answer questions about the status and origin of these bears, a graduate student from Oklahoma State University spent two summers setting up a series of camera traps and hair snares and got big picture results.

An estimated 26 black bears are thought to occur in Cimarron County and are genetically similar to those found in northeastern New Mexico.

Genetic testing, along with the somewhat even mix of males and females documented during the study, supports the prediction that black bears are well-established in Oklahoma’s Panhandle and are using the edges of their range during periods of drought conditions. Photos of a sow bear with two small cubs were also captured, providing evidence of a breeding population within the Black Mesa region and further support that Oklahoma’s Panhandle population is well-established.

A Hands-Off Approach Panhandle Black Bears “Captured” with Remote Camera Traps To arrive at this estimate of a few dozen bears roaming Cimarron County, Kleeberg spent the summers of 2022 and 2023 meeting with landowners, investigating the available habitat, and deploying camera traps within 160 grids, each 1,500-acres in size.

In each grid, a motion- triggered trail camera was attached to a tree or t-post about a foot and a half from the ground, facing north. Kleeberg’s team would then assess the available habitat within a twoacre area surrounding the camera, measuring the percent juniper cover, the number of prickly pear cacti and ant mounts available, and the amount of fallen logs or other woody debris on the ground – all of which could equate to a source of food for the bears. After the habitat data had been collected, rocks and logs were then piled about 15 feet in front of the camera and one of four scents – either a skunk-based, beaver, blueberry, or anise oil lure – was added to the pile to attract bears to the camera trap. If triggered, the camera would take a burst of three photos.

“We saw bears of every color on camera,” Kleeberg said. “There were multiple blonde bears, and even a couple of cinnamon bears. It was cool to see bears with unique pelage patterns moving up and down the river.”

Cameras were deployed at each site for at least 28 days, sometimes longer if there were camera or card failures. Daily routes were established so that each camera was checked every seven days to make sure it was still functioning, to see if any bears had been detected, and to replenish scent lures. Because of the region’s rough terrain, drive time between the sites, and time spent hiking to individual stations, Kleeberg’s team would sometimes be able to check only six cameras a day. But in less rugged areas of the county, they would be able to visit as many as 20 cameras in a day.

Of the 160 camera traps deployed between the two summers, 20 sites captured black bears. For the sites where zero bears were detected in four weeks’ time, the camera was moved to another grid and deployed for another 28 days until a total of 80 sites had been “trapped” each summer. But if a bear was detected on camera, another trap would be set – this time made of barbed wire – in hopes of collecting hair samples for DNA testing. These “hair snares” consisted of a single strand of barbed wire that would be stretched low around the scent pile next to the camera and at as many other scent piles as could be established within three-quarters of a mile from the camera.