This conversation originally aired on September 22, 2021.
A natural part of living in Florida is sometimes interacting with wild animals — including Florida black bears. Wildlife biologists estimate our state is home to more than 4,000 Florida black bears. They primarily live in large wild spaces, but as the state’s population grows and development encroaches more and more on those large wild spaces, human-bear interactions are becoming more common.
Wildlife officers trapped and tranquilized a black bear on Monday near downtown Fort Myers. Bears are pretty wily and mostly move around at night so most people have probably never even seen one, or even know that we have black bears in this part of Florida, let alone wandering through our neighborhoods.
We talk with a bear expert with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission about bears in Florida, how they behave, and what we can do to minimize neighborhood interactions with them.
Florida lawmakers passed a bill during the 2024 legislative session that says people won’t be penalized for killing bears if they reasonably believe it was necessary to avoid an imminent threat.
The measure has not been sent to Governor Ron DeSantis yet.
Guest:
Mike Orlando, Bear Management Coordinator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
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