NOXUBEE COUNTY — Sometimes, seeing is believing.
“To be honest, I didn’t believe it when I first heard about it,” said Noxubee County Chief Deputy Dontevis Smith. “I’ve heard of panthers and all that, but I’ve never heard of a bear in Noxubee County.”
Once somebody sent him a picture of the alleged bear, however, Smith told The Dispatch he started taking it a lot more seriously.
“She sent me the picture, and I was all, ‘Yeah, that’s a bear. Can’t deny that,’” Smith said.
Stories about the elusive animal – believed to be an American black bear – first cropped up about three weeks ago, Smith said.
“Someone took a picture maybe three weeks ago of a bear at their grandmother’s house,” Smith said. “She sent the picture to a family member in Chicago. That’s when word began spreading around here.”
Last Saturday someone called 911 and reported seeing a bear and a cub near the Sandyland Community Center, Smith said. Another bear sighting was reported Sunday, also near the community center.
“Right now it’s a pretty big thing in Noxubee County,” Smith said. “People keep asking if we’re going to search the woods, but we can’t do that on our end.”
Smith said he may have had a run-in with the bear himself while filming a segment with a WCBI reporter earlier this week.
“I heard footsteps (in the trees) while doing the interview,” Smith said. “I was like nah, that can’t be. I went to the treeline and saw something moving from left to right, and I thought that can’t be no rabbit so I fired off a round into the ground. Nothing took off running.
“Surely if you shoot a firearm, if it’s a deer it’s going to run off,” Smith added. “If it’s a rabbit, it’s going to run off.”
Just stay away … and secure your food
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Wildlife Bureau Director Amy Blaylock told The Dispatch the animal was almost certainly a black bear.
Black bears are medium-sized bears, and are the smallest and most common species of bear in North America.
Black bears are more common in the Delta and the southwest portions of the state, but do tend to “pass through” eastern Mississippi, Blaylock said.
“It’s definitely not uncommon for them to pass through,” Blaylock said.
The fact that the bear is reportedly female is more unusual, Blaylock said.
“(A female) is not something you see every day,” Blaylock said. “Males are seen more often. They like to ramble.”
The bear is likely following its stomach, Blaylock said.
“They have a tendency to go towards people’s garbage,” Blaylock said. “If people have dog or cat food out, they’ll find that, too. If it’s around people, it’s probably looking for food.”
Blaylock advised anyone in the area to make sure their trash and any other food source is secure.
Blaylock and Smith both advised anyone who comes across the bear to stay away, and let the authorities know.
“They are not typically aggressive,” Blaylock said. “They’re not used to people, and if they’re going to run from you. There’s no reason to be scared or alarmed.”
Smith asked people to give it a wide berth.
“I”m just telling people to stay away from it and call 911,” Smith said. “The people at 911 will contact Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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