If you have not yet seen a bear in the Midstate, it might not be long before you do.

That's the message the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is sending concerning the growing population of black bears in Tennessee.

Bears, which were nearly wiped out in Tennessee by the early 1970s, have been thriving in the eastern part of the state over the last three decades and are now moving toward Middle Tennessee.

The TWRA estimates there currently are about 6,000 black bears in the state.

A total of 557 bears were harvested in Tennessee in 2015. A total of 41 bears have been killed in Midstate counties Pickett, Cumberland and Fentress over the last two years.

Bears were spotted in Coffee, Grundy and DeKalb counties earlier this summer.

Black bears are not nearly as aggressive as some other bears such as browns or grizzlies and predatory attacks are rare.

They can, however, be a nuisance for residents if they find a food source close to a home.