Black bear population exploding in Oklahoma one year after bear found in Norman

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — The air was cool and crisp on the night of Wednesday, May 19, 2021.

While most people were turning in for the night in Norman, a backyard intruder had different plans. Instead of roaming areas like Ouachita Mountains or the panhandle, a black bear had made its way into the Oklahoma City suburb.

The night began with frantic calls to 911.

• ALSO SEE: Moore student remembers devastating EF-5 tornado nine years later

Homeowner Meredith Dunn recorded video of the encounter with the bear while wildlife officials tried to get it to move out of a tree in her backyard. For five hours, the bear climbed higher and higher, before a limb broke, sending the bear tumbling to the ground.

Wildlife officials tranquilized the bear several times, but it continued its approach toward humans. At one point, game wardens said the bear charged, causing them to shoot the bear, killing it.

In video Dunn captured, her child is heard asking, "did they hit him?" Dunn explained the fatal shot was "just to calm him down", comparing the game warden's actions to a "melatonin". Once her child moved out of earshot, she broke down.

Social media outcry over the bear's death followed for several days.

• ALSO SEE: Oklahoma City Zoo announces pregnancy of endangered okapi

Then as quickly as the elusive bear arrived in Norman, memories of the event started to fade.

"We haven't seen any bears (again) in Norman," said Micah Holmes, spokesperson for the Department of Wildlife Conservation. "But the bear population is growing slowly across the state."

The Department of Wildlife Conservation estimates the black bear population grows at roughly 6% per year. While they mainly stick to southeastern Oklahoma and the panhandle, the lack of natural predators means more bears are popping up.

With more bears in the state, territories start to expand, leading other bears out of the native areas they are found in and inside suburbs like Norman.

"The bear population is doing very well in Oklahoma," Holmes said.

Recently, the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Foundation worked with the agency to better equip and train wildlife staff who work with black bears.

The foundation bought six state-of-the-art pneumatic tranquilizer rifles to help in the capture and handling of bears, especially for Nuisance Bear Coordinators with the department. The tranquilizer dart guns can help with future human-and-bear encounters like the one in Norman last year.

• ALSO SEE: Oklahoma senior class scammed out of trip to Universal Studios

"We take any encounter, whether it goes great or it doesn't end the way we want it to end, we take that as an opportunity to learn," Holmes said. "That's certainly something we did, in this case, to make sure we have the right people trained up in the right spots."

As the bear population continues to boom, it might not be as unusual to spot a bear in a metro area. There are some things you can do to help make your home, cars and campgrounds less attractive to bears. The Department of Wildlife Conservation has a list of suggestions here.

If you spot a black bear in an area, there are different numbers to call to report it. You can find those phone numbers here.

For more local news delivered straight to your inbox sign up for our daily newsletter by clicking here.