A Burns woman reported seeing a black bear in her yard on Sunday, June 8, one of several sightings reported in the Middle Tennessee area including sightings in Hickman County, according to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency public information officer Barry Cross.
In a TWRA press release, Cross said black bears have been sighted in Dickson, Hickman, Sumner and Wilson Counties. “Tennessee’s black bear population is primarily concentrated on the Cumberland Plateau and throughout East Tennessee, extending into neighboring North Carolina. Each spring, young male bears leave their birth areas in search of territory to establish their own home ranges. During these travels, bears may appear in areas of Middle Tennessee where bear sightings are less common, before eventually returning to regions with established bear populations,” Cross said in the press release.
Missey Birchfield Jackson, who lives on Spencer Mill Road near the intersection of Interstate 40 in Burns, told The Dickson Post she saw the bear Sunday around 20 feet from her front porch next to her grandson’s swing set. She stated the bear pulled the bird feeder down off the hook and ate half of it. Her grandson and she were on the porch watching the bear, who she claims saw them but never attempted to get on the porch. “It was very scary and surreal! Not something we would have ever imagined we would see in our front yard that close to our porch!,” Jackson said…