510-pound black bear breaks state record in Mississippi

Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Wildlife officials in Mississippi said researchers trapped and tagged a 510-pound bear that is officially the largest ever documented in the state.

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks said researchers with its Black Bear Program have been trapping bears in the state and outfitting them with GPS collars for tracking.

Anthony Ballard, the MDWFP Black Bear Program coordinator, trapped a bear known as M18 and was shocked when the bruin weighed in at a record-breaking 510 pounds.

"After it was all over, you got time to look at him and it was like, 'Man, this is a big bear,'" Ballard told the Clarion Ledger newspaper.

M18 was first collared in August 2022, when he weighed a comparatively petite 360 pounds. The MDWFP said the bear was able to slip out of his tracking collar shortly after his first capture.

The previous heaviest bear identified in the state was a 468-pound bear found dead at the side of a Wilkinson County road.