Bearish growth

A taxidermist’s mount of a Louisiana black bear was one of the exhibits in April at the Bayou Teche Black Bear Festival in Franklin. The festival celebrated its 10th year of educating Teche Area residents about coexisting with the animal on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s threatened list. Studies show the bear’s population is growing in Louisiana.

Researchers with the University of Tennessee said studies during the past seven years show growth in the Louisiana black bear population, but a full viability analysis won’t be complete for several months.

Dr. Joseph Clark, ecologist with the University of Tennessee, said students began researching the subpopulations of black bears along the coast, upper Atchafalaya and around the Tensas River Basin in 2006, trying to establish population parameters like growth and survival rates.