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Study focused on Panhandle Black Bears gets big picture results
news
April 24, 2024
Study focused on Panhandle Black Bears gets big picture results
By JENA DONNELL,

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.

The annual 4th of July Fireworks show
A: Main, news
The annual 4th of July Fireworks show
July 9, 2025
Eufaula’s population was swollen over the weekend as thousands of out-of-towners joined locals to watch the annual 4th of July Fireworks show, held Friday, July 4. The display took place over the Eufa...
A: Main, news
City gets more attorneys; OKs growth plan
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New-and-former City Manager Jacob Foos continues to make changes at city hall. Shortly after being re-hired for the position he left in September, 2021, Foos issued a statement that he was establishin...
Local resident stars in U.S. Cellular ad
A: Main, news
Local resident stars in U.S. Cellular ad
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In all of her 58 years Louana Christie, EHS Class of ’85, never thought she would appear before a camera. Movie making was for her older sister, Selina Jayne Dornan, former Eufaula mayor and who once ...
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Eufaula school feels the chill from Trump’s funding freeze
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July 9, 2025
When the Trump administration announced this week it was freezing over $70 million in education funding earmarked for Oklahoma, it surprised a lot of administrators. Eufaula School Superintendent Mont...
A: Main, news
Trump freezes over $70 million in state’s education funds
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States won’t receive funds from six federal programs, including after-school care and English learner support, until further notice. NURIA MARTINEZ-KEEL OKLAHOMA VOICE OKLAHOMA CITY — The Trump admini...
Noah Alexander trades football uniform for West Point uniform
A: Main, news
Noah Alexander trades football uniform for West Point uniform
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
July 9, 2025
Noah Alexander will begin his senior year at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., this fall. It seems like only yesterday he was a stand-out running back for the Eufaula Ironheads, ...
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Bud McCombs to speak to Friends of Library
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Bud McCombs to speak to Friends of Library
By LENORE BECHTEL 
July 9, 2025
How Eufaula happened to exist will be Friend’s speaker’s topic at the Eufaula Memorial Library at 1 p.m. Friday, July 18, When Eufaula was only an intersection, the city’s founding fathers lived in a ...
news
Annual Memorial Service planned at Honey Springs Battlefield
July 9, 2025
CHECOTAH — Honey Springs Battlefield will hold its annual memorial service on Saturday, July 19, at 10:30 a.m. to honor the 162nd anniversary of the Battle of Honey Springs near Checotah. The service ...
Calls needed to protect National Weather Service operations
commentary
Calls needed to protect National Weather Service operations
By JOE DORMAN OICA CEO 
July 9, 2025
OKLAHOMA CITY – We at the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) extend our deepest condolences to families tragically impacted by the recent flooding in Texas. Flooding along the Guadalupe Rive...
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Jeff Starling launches campaign for attorney general
July 9, 2025
TULSA ––Jeff Starling, Oklahoma’s Secretary of Energy and Environment, has officially announced his candidacy for Attorney General of Oklahoma. Starling is a conservative, attorney, businessman, and d...
Warriors of God, ready yourselves
commentary
Warriors of God, ready yourselves
July 9, 2025
Of my 56 years of being in this world, 50 of those years I have been filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I was only six years old when I attended my first Tiger Mount...
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