Bear hunter Mike Lundy with the 348-pound black bear he killed while still-hunting last season. Tennessee hunters bagged a record 446 bears last season. Photo courtesy of Mike Lundy.

There was an air of expectancy in mid-December last year as Mike Lundy arrived at his chosen stand site well before daylight. Having arranged for a few days off during prime bear season, the Statesville native had traveled east and was looking to kill his first bear. He knew a bear refuge was close by to an area he had permission to hunt, and he had spent time scouting the area until he found exactly what he was looking for: a well-used trail marked with bear scat and paw prints, evidence bears had recently been in the area. The landowner had informed him he had seen several black bears on the property, including a monster boar that was estimated at nearly 600 pounds.

After spending the morning and early afternoon in his stand, Lundy glimpsed the dark shape of a 200-pound black bear ambling its way toward his location from across a clearing. His rangefinder put the bear at just under 200 yards as he began to get into position to shoot. As he raised his gun, another bear, head and shoulders larger then the bear coming toward him, stepped into the clearing.

"I immediately refocused on the larger bear and put the cross hairs directly on the shoulder and squeezed," he said.

Though the bear shifted at the last moment, luck was in Lundy's favor: the bullet struck the bear just behind the head and dropped it on the spot. Not believing his good fortune, Lundy climbed from his stand and went to collect the huge female, which weighed 348 pounds and was nearly 5 feet long.

An Expanding Population
"The majority of black bear hunting in Tennessee occurs on the 640,000-acre Cherokee National Forest (CNF) located in 11 East Tennessee counties," noted Tennessee Region IV biologist David Brandenburg. "Through 30 years of intense management, the agency has been able to increase our bear population by an average of 21 percent every year and more then 30 percent each year over the last 10 years."

Brandenburg points to several factors that have worked together to provide such benefits. The establishment of bear sanctuaries back in the 1970s led to the harvest population increasing from a mere 25 bears each year to the record 446 that were harvested in 2008. In addition, season dates were changed to allow the protection of pregnant females shortly after the mating season ended. He also adds that forests that were cut over some 30 years ago have now returned and are in peak condition to provide mast forage, which increased the carrying capacity of the bear habitat.

"We also severely underestimated the black bear's resilience and its ability to adapt and change with its environment," said Brandenburg. "Situations we thought years ago would limit the bear's range have been overcome by these amazingly adaptable animals."

As the bears increased in numbers, the bear population expanded its range. At the same time, human beings were expanding residential development into more remote areas. The result can include conflict.