Black bear
IN PHOTO: A female black bear and a cub are pictured in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, May 17, 2014. The nearly 3,500 square mile park straddling the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho was founded in 1872 as America's first national park. Picture taken May 17, 2014. Reuters/Jim Urquhart

There is good news for the Louisiana black bear as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or USFWS, announced on May 20 that the species no longer face threats of extinction within the next century. Authorities said that delisting process for the Louisiana black bear has started, the Time-Picayune reports.

This subspecies of black bear is a native of Louisiana, western Mississippi and East Texas. In 1992, it was listed as endangered because its population was threatened due to habitat loss and hunting. But now, reports say that an estimate of 500 to 750 black bears are seen roaming in the region, a number that is twice than the population recorded in 1992.

“The Louisiana black bear symbolizes how the Endangered Species Act can be a remarkably effective tool to protect and recover threatened and endangered species when we work in close partnership with states and other stakeholders,” Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of Interior, said in a report by KNOE. According to her, the recovery of the species is another success story by the act.

The USFWS has proposed delisting of the bear from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, a process that usually takes a year to complete, as reported in the Times-Picayune. The agency will gather more biological information on the different threats the bears are facing through a public comment, which will close by July 20.

Diana Samuels for the Times-Picayune writes that the Louisiana black bear is the inspiration behind the famous “teddy bear” involving the hunting trip with former president Teddy Roosevelt. His great-grandson Theodore Roosevelt IV, a conservationist, was present during the announcement of the bear delisting that took place at the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge.

State governor Bobby Jindal and other federal and state officials said that the news on bear delisting is an important milestone for the conservation efforts in Louisiana. Officials said it would mean that the next generations will not just rely on the stuffed animal to remind them of the Louisiana black bear.

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