Which bear is the state animal of Louisiana?

The bear that serves as Louisiana’s state animal is the Louisiana black bear.

More precisely, Louisiana law designates the black bear as the state’s official state mammal, and the state’s named subspecies is the Louisiana black bear, Ursus americanus luteolus. It is a subspecies of the American black bear rather than a separate bear species.

The designation dates to 1992, a difficult period for the population. Habitat loss, deforestation and past hunting had sharply reduced Louisiana black bears, which historically occupied bottomland forests and wetlands along major river systems such as the Tensas, Red and Atchafalaya.

The Louisiana black bear was listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1992 and removed from the federal list in 2016 after conservation and habitat-restoration efforts. A common mix-up is confusing the state mammal with Louisiana’s state bird, the brown pelican, or its state reptile, the American alligator. The bear remains an important symbol of Louisiana wildlife recovery.