Two serious attacks and an unprecedented rise in the animal’s population have caused a recent bear scare among Floridians.
The bears that mauled Terri Frana in Lake Mary on April 14 and Susan Chalfant in Longwood on Dec. 2 raised questions and debate about the potential danger of bears in other populated areas such as Gainesville.
Last month, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission held a public meeting at Gainesville City Hall to discuss future management of Florida’s largest land mammal. The Florida black bear’s swelling numbers moved it off the state’s threatened species list in 2012. Since then, its population has continued to rise along with sightings.
Commission spokeswoman Karen Parker said because Florida’s bear population and human population are both increasing, the chance of an encounter is higher.
“We’re not talking about Disney animals here,” she said. “We’re talking about wildlife that can hurt you.”
Parker said they get more calls to the wildlife alert hotline during the spring when mating season causes the animals to roam.
“We’re coming across these bears ... that are showing some disconcerting behaviors,” she said. “(They’re) coming right up to people like ‘Hey give me a ham sandwich.’”
Since the most recent attack, the commission has killed seven black bears they deemed as “habitualized,” meaning the animals have lost their fear of humans.
Some Floridians can’t bear it anymore. People are asking the commission to move bears away from neighborhoods instead of killing them, according to a web petition written by Mark Marhon Jr. of Groveland, Fla., and electronically signed by about 1,000 supporters.
“Unfairly baiting and exterminating bears is animal cruelty with no justifiable end,” Marhon said in the petition.
Samantha Wisely, a UF wildlife ecology and conservation professor, said she has seen years of research prove that relocating problem bears does nothing but relocate the problem.
The bears will either travel long distances back to the known food source or find another neighborhood to hassle for a handout.
“If you have a bear behave in a bad way, it has to be euthanized.” she said, “That’s why a fed bear is a dead bear.”
With the recent bear increase, Floridians are starting to become more aware of the issue.
In Gainesville, a bear was found roaming the Kirkwood subdivision last year, according to Alligator archives. Parker said the incident did not end in harm to either party because the commission educated the neighborhood.
“It did work, and it was because of the community’s effort,” Parker said. “And that’s what we like to see.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 4/22/2014 under the headline "Bear sightings, attacks raise safety questions and discussion"]
A meeting was held in March at Gainesville City Hall by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which provided this photo, to discuss black bears. The bear population is growing across the state.
