Black bear hunts to begin Thursday in Oklahoma

→Oklahoma is the 29th state to have a bear hunting season. The season will only be in Latimer, Le Flore, McCurtain and Pushmataha counties.

→Hunters can only harvest 20 black bears during the season. Archery season begins Thursday. Muzzle loader season begins Oct. 24, unless the quota

is met.

→Black bears in Oklahoma come from Arkansas, which re-introduced the species to wilderness areas in the Ozark and Ouachita mountains in the late 1950s and 1960s. The bears came from northern Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada.

→Biologists estimate there are at least 500 bears in Oklahoma.

→The bears’ average age is 3.7 years old.

→Bears can travel as fast as 35 mph.

→Female black bears weigh between 100 and 300 pounds.

→Male black bears weigh up to 400 pounds.

→Bears live up to 25 years.

Source: State Wildlife Conservation Department