Bear Spotted Near Bixby: Tulsa Metro Residents Do a Double Take

Oklahoma has always had a complicated relationship with wildlife. As more and more deer are hit with vehicles each fall, I guess we still do.

But it used to be more than deer across our plains. Oklahoma was home to grizzly bears, gray wolves, native elk, and millions of bison, which were all hunted out of existence as settlers pushed west.

They were considered threats, competitors, and good meals. By the time Oklahoma was a state, most of them were long gone.

The black bears Oklahoma story nearly ended the same way.

For decades, their numbers were so low that spotting one was almost as rare as seeing BigFoot, but thanks to more than a century of conservation efforts, the population has rebounded.

In fact, there are more black bears in Oklahoma today than at any other point in modern history. The restoration efforts have been so successful, the state even opened a regulated hunting season back in 2009 and has expanded it over the years.

Most of our bears stick to their traditional territory over in Eastern/Southeastern Oklahoma, but they turn up in unexpected places once in a while. Last year the headline was "Bear in the OKC Metro," and today the word is a bear was spotted just outside of Bixby, right on the edge of the Tulsa Metro.

For locals who caught a glimpse, you can bet it was a double-take moment. You don’t expect to see a bear so far from the forests farther East. Yet here it is on camera.

Wildlife experts will tell you the same things your mom would... Life isn't a Disney movie. Don’t try to approach a wild animal. Definitely don’t feed it anything, and try not to panic. They're just exploring the unknown world we all call home.

Oklahoma is still wild, and with the continued success of bear conservation, this probably won’t be the last time someone in Tulsa County catches one on camera.