The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism reported multiple spottings of a black bear near the town of Weir over the weekend. While black bears were wiped out in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma by the early 1900s their numbers in those state has been steady increasing. The repopulation is credited to Arkansas reintroducing the species into some mountainous areas over 50 years ago. They’ve since prospered, multiplied and moved from state to state.