THE BEAUTIFUL AND INTELLIGENT
FLORIDA NATIVE:
BLACK BEARS
MIKE ORLANDO
ASSISTANT COORDINATOR – BEAR
MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE
CONSERVATION COMMISSION
Since 1980, Florida’s
native black bear population has been expanding, estimated, by Florida Fish and
Wildlife to number approximately 4,350. The same year, the human population in Florida
numbered 5 million; in 2016, the population grew to 20 million with an expected
growth by 2060 to 36 million people. Today, bears and people are living in close
proximity but Florida’s black bears still live in the sand pine wilderness, forests,
oak scrub, and wetlands, adapting to the encroachment of humans into their
native habitat. It is not the bears that
pose the greatest threat to their survival; it is human behavior.
After the last Ice Age,
eleven thousand years ago, Paleo-Indians occupied much of Florida. Their descendants, the tattooed Timucua
Indians, fished and hunted along the upward flowing St. John’s River on
Florida’s northeast coast and inland to the Wekiwa River. Today, one of the most beautiful bear habitats in Florida is Wekiwa Springs
State Park, Apopka, Fl, about 20 miles north of Orlando and the origin of a spring
that pumps 42 million gallons of water a day into the Wekiwa River from a deep
15 to 20 foot cavern. The Wekiwa Springs
River runs through Wekiwa Springs State Park and is one of the last remaining
wild and scenic rivers in Florida.
Today, Wekiwa Springs
State Park, originally a private Sportsman’s Club in 1941, is a large tourist
attraction with camping, swimming, canoeing, biking, hiking and horseback
riding through the 100 year old pine forest flats. As the sun rises and dusk veils the forest,
visitors can observe white tail deer, wild turkeys, the little known Sherman’s
fox squirrel and the dark profile of Florida’s black bear peacefully roaming
through the woods.
Mike Orlando, Assistant
Coordinator of the Bear Management Program, Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission says, “The Park is one of the best protected habitats
for the black bear to safely survive.” He
dispels the widely held belief that the growing human population in Florida
imperils the black bear, as he says, “they have recovered. It is not true that as the population grows,
natural species necessarily decrease.
Today, better education of tourists, residents and good management
practices like habitat management has helped the black bear and other wildlife
thrive.
For the past twenty
years, Orlando has studied the behavior of the Florida black bear, one of the
most curious and wondrous species in Florida.
He says, “The male bears have a territorial area of sixty square miles
and females, a smaller range of fifteen square miles.”
At Wekiwa Springs State
Park, a housing development butts directly up to the edge. Orlando calls this a “transitional zone or
urban wildlife interface.” People who
live in the residential community are educated to co-exist with their bear
neighbors. However, Orlando brings up a
caveat: “Bears have a keen sense of
smell, so residents not only living directly on the park border but the
neighborhood need to follow safety procedures to divert an opportunistic bear hunting
for food. It is important to move any eminent food from
the area. In order to save the bear, humans
need to be careful not to create life conflicts. If a bear approaches a neighborhood, it is likely
seeking available unsecured human food,” Orlando clarifies.
“In January or
February,” says Orlando, “Female bears, about 3 years old, usually bare their
young. They may pull together pine needles or fallen trees, whatever
is around to build a den like a bird’s nest, and some even dig a hole. Females usually have 2 or 3 cubs. The females protect the cubs, teach them how
to survive and find food. If the mother
bear learns there is food available in a neighborhood, she will also teach her
cubs where to find it.” FWC literature
says if a bear is eating something on your property, take note of what it is
and secure it after the bear has left the area. In Florida, it is against the law to feed
bears.
The Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has developed a “cost share program” to help
residents afford bear resistant containers.
Residents can purchase “bear proof dumpsters” for their area like the
ones at Wekiwa Springs State Park. Highlands
Hammock State Park in Sebring has numerous bear sightings and is also
installing the new dumpsters. However,
despite the closer proximity of bears and humans, Orlando says, “Bears usually withdraw
from an accidental confrontation with humans; however, they are wild animals
and deserve respect.
“The best precaution to
co-exist in a bear habitat,” says Orlando “is to keep attractants away from
bears. If a bear is up a tree, usually after dark, it will eventually leave the
area on its own when it feels safe.
People sometimes mistake bear ‘posturing’ like standing up on its hind
legs as a threat,” he explains. “The
bear behaves like a squirrel. When a bear stands on its hind legs, it is only
trying to get a better view or scent. However,
unlike squirrels, bears are powerful. Males
can weigh on an average 250-350 pounds; females, 130-180 pounds. Because of their power and size, people
should respect these animals and stay at a safe distance.
Orlando stresses that “pro-active” human
behavior is essential to protect bears and all native wildlife. As people continue to migrate into the
sunshine state, bear and people encounters in the woods or in neighborhoods will
continue; however, Orlando emphasizes, “People can learn to co-exist with
Nature and appreciate the bear.”
“Bears are symbols of
the wilderness. We provide information
and teach our visitors about bear behavior, we go to schools and take a bear
hide from one accidentally killed on the highway to show children. We hand out bear whistles and clappers to
kids and adults to scare a bear away should there be an encounter. Most importantly, if we appreciate the
natural world and realize we are inherently connected with Nature, we as humans
will learn to appreciate the life of wild things in preserving Florida’s
wildlife. We are a living planet and we
need to teach a balance of human behavior with Nature exploration. We have to do our part to save the bear.”
In 2016, FWC provided Florida
residents the opportunity for input on the next planned bear hunt. The Commission was presented with four
options to consider as recommended by staff at FWC and biologists. Each option outlined a different strategy. Option 1, was “the same as the 2015 framework with
updated hunt objectives;” Option 2 offered more “limited restrictions on hunting
bears;” Option 3 offered “a postponement of bear hunting in 2016, creating a
zero-hunt objective;” Option 4, opted “to repeal bear hunt rules and not allow
bear hunting in Florida in future years.”
The result was no bear hunting for 2016.
Mike Orlando has been
studying bears since college. He earned his
BA degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida and later his
Master’s in “Forest Ecology” at the University of Kentucky. At UF his study of alligators migrated to a
bear project at Egland Air Force Base when he worked with graduate students placing
radio collars on bears. At Weeki Wachee
Springs on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Orlando expanded his focus on bear behavior
which led him to his present position as the FWC Assistant Coordinator of the
Bear Management Program.
Dr. Nancy Dale is the
author of 5 books on the true stories of Florida’s legendary pioneer “cow
hunters.” UPCOMING BOOK: PRESERVING
NATIVE FLORIDA: THE LEGENDS, THE
WILDERNESS AND THE WILDLIFE. Books are
available: www.nancydalephd.com,
Lake Placid:
Lake Placid Feed and Western Wear, Sebring/Avon Park: Sebring Ranch Supply, Pure Grit Boot Company,
SFSC Museum of Art and Culture
