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Bear Aware: Area Home To Dense Population

Be Bear Aware
By Adrian Newby
    We don’t know about y’all, but when winter rolls around these early sunsets make us a little sleepy. It turns out, though, that we aren’t the only things that feel this way in the winter. One of the most notable creatures that slows down in the winter is the Florida Black Bear. Up to and into the winter months Black Bears try to stock up on calories to get through those months where food is harder to come by, and they are not over particular where they get those calories.
    In the fall, in preparation for winter black bears will eat around 20,000 calories a day. These calories are usually things they can scavenge like acorns and frogs, but there are some more problematic food sources they can get at; namely your trash, and leftover livestock feed.
With laws protecting bear populations, and an inordinate amount of new residents in the area, there are more and more opportunities for human/bear interactions and contact. We keep developing places where bears once lived, and then leave our trash on the curb. If we think about it that way, it is ridiculous to be surprised when a bear gets into our unsecured trash.
    Another potential attractant that we are sure lots of us have is livestock leftovers. We know that a lot of us will feed our animals and give them little more thought. However, if you leave feed in a pasture, or in an accessible stall, it could likely bring a bear out looking for a snack. If you leave your stock out this could be a problem also, as they might get into a scrap with the bear over their food. So it's just a good idea not to leave food in the fall if it doesn't get eaten within a little bit of you putting in out.
    If you aren't convinced about the prominence of bears in the area yet, you can look at FWC's website. There you can see that the northern two-thirds of Lake County and the majority of Marion County, as well as a few other counties are part of the largest, "frequent sightings" region in the state. Meaning we have just about the most bears of anyone around. In our neighborhood alone we currently have at least five bears. Two cubs, one young adult, one medium-sized bear, and one big ol' bear. Just about every time we leave the house we see some combination of those bears crossing or very near the road.
    We have more people than ever, an more bears than any time in recent memory. We need to be mindful of what is going around us in nature, as we have to be good neighbors with the wildlife or reap the unfortunate consequences. We are blessed to be in a state that is so passionate about conservation and preservation, but we are only going to be as well off as the next generation cares to keep us.
    If there is anything to take from this article, it's to just be a little bit more careful. Instead of leaving your trash out overnight, get up a little earlier on trash day and give it less time to sit. Instead of dumping a big bucket of scraps out for the pigs and letting them sit, just give them an amount they'll eat in one sitting. We don't need to change everything, just to be a little different in a few places. If enough people are a little more careful, that will add up to be a lot. Just for the record, bears can't tell the difference between food they should or shouldn't eat, so don't give them temptation. FWC says "A fed bear is a dead bear." Try not to leave pet food, livestock food, or garbage where a bear will easily find it. Bears take in a lot of territory looking for food, but if it finds food in your barn it is sure to come back.