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Black Bears Showing Robust Growth In Florida
March 28, 2016
Florida has a “robust” and growing bear population, according to the latest state estimate.
But a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission official said Thursday it remains premature to speculate about whether a bear hunt will be held this year.
The latest Florida black bear estimate puts the overall population at 4,350 adults, of which 4,220 are believed to be in five areas of the state.
“We’re having more bears born and surviving than are dying,” Thomas Eason, the commission’s director of habitat and species conservation, told reporters in a conference call. “For a large carnivore like a black bear, these are pretty substantial growth rates that we’re seeing.”
The overall number — based on surveys conducted before a two-day hunt in October in which more than 300 bears were killed — is up from the estimated 2,640 last year in those five management areas, Eason said.
Eason, noting the latest numbers show the population is “robust” and “growing,” said the agency also estimates that bears are now breeding about 2,000 cubs a year in the state.
The bear population had been as low as 300 to 500 statewide in the 1970s, when bears were put on the state list of threatened species because of a mix of hunting and humans impacting their natural habitat.
Bears were removed from the list in 2012 when a new management plan was approved.
Asked if the increased number would support a recommendation from staff to hold a hunting season later this year, Eason said the agency continues to evaluate the updated population numbers and the results of the 2015 hunt.
“There is no proposal on the table right now, so I can’t tell you what we may or may not do,” Eason said. “I can tell you our researchers, our management staff, we’re all in this because we care deeply about bears and we definitely are going to continue to take conservative approaches on all of our management.”
Last year, a planned week-long hunt was shortened to two days after 304 bears were killed, 16 short of the so-called “harvest objective.” The goal of the hunt was to slow the bear population growth, Eason said.
Conservation groups headed by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Animal Legal Defense Fund have petitioned the federal government to approve an endangered-species protection designation for Florida black bears.
Jacki Lopez, the Center for Biological Diversity’s Florida director, said that while she hadn’t been able to review the new numbers they shouldn’t affect the groups’ petition.
“I don’t see how the new numbers could change the fact that the populations are extremely fragmented and face mounting threats from human population growth which will further isolate them and make them vulnerable to mortality from roads and proximity to urban areas,” Lopez said in an email.
Eason said the hunt was just one measure used to reduce dangerous interactions between bears and humans.
In 2015, lawmakers increased penalties for people who repeatedly are found feeding bears not in captivity. Eason said “roughly” 125 to 150 people were ticketed last year under the new rule.
This year, Florida lawmakers included $500,000 to reduce human-bear conflicts in the state’s new $82 billion budget. The money is to match local dollars in purchasing bear-resistant garbage containers.
The Center for Biological Diversity estimates at least 590 bears were killed in Florida last year, when factoring in the hunt, habitat loss and road kill.
The updated numbers from the commission are based on surveys conducted last year in three of the management areas and in 2014 in two other areas.
The latest numbers from the two-year survey show an estimated 1,080 bears were in the eastern Panhandle region, which includes the northwestern Big Bend area to west of Apalachicola Bay, up 80 percent from 2002.
With 1,150 bears, the South region — Broward, Collier, Hendry, Lee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties — saw a 64 percent growth in the same period.
The bear population has also grown 75 percent since 2002 in the western Panhandle, where 140 bears were estimated. The western Panhandle was not opened to hunting last year.
The state has placed the bear population at 620 in the North region, which goes from Jacksonville west to Hamilton and Suwannee counties, and 1,230 bears in the Central region, which includes the St. Johns River watershed to the Ocala National Forest.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Comments
10 Responses to “Black Bears Showing Robust Growth In Florida”
@Kathy,
If there is no “bear hunt” –
With no way to control their numbers –
What will we do when the population doubles ?
Should we just depend on road killed bears to keep their numbers down ?
How do you suggest we deal with the extra bears ?
You know if you bunny huggers are soooooo concerned about the bear, rather than whining and crying about the few bear taken in the state through legal hunting, why don’t you address the bigger problem of timber companies herbiciding tens of thousands of acres of woodlands, therein decimating the bears’ food supply literally, for decades??
Within 10 miles of my house there is in all probability 20,000 acres of timberland that has been herbicided. There are NO berry bearing plants left, the forest consists of pine trees, pine straw, and brome grass. Those berries comprise the majority of the bears’ diet, several months out of the year. Unless you people have taught your cute fuzzy little bears to eat pine straw, they are going to become a problem, because there is nothing left for them to eat in the forest and they are being pushed into Urban areas.
Then there is the small matter of environmentalists working for the US Forest Service that are on a mission leveling 15,000 acres of forest, so that it can all be planted in Long Leaf Pine Trees, again decimating the berry bearing plants that the bear need for feed, just 12 miles up the road from my house.
So quit whining and crying about hunters, who for the most part are NOT irresponsible, get off your indignant irresponsible backsides and go fight the battle where it rightfully should be fought. Tell ITT Rayonier and the US Government to quit destroying bear habitat!
They should never allow bear hunting, there are so few left. Why would anyone want to kill them? I guess to have a bear rug and say “look what I killed for no reason”…
@Kim,
Lay off the Kool-Aid.
A few things to consider here…
Eason said they were taking a conservative approach… Beginning with bear population numbers!
The Florida Black Bear Management Plan clearly states that only Primary bear habitat is sampled in their studies. It further states they know bear exist in Secondary habitat, but they’re difficult to estimate there, so they do NOT attempt to estimate those bear. The cities experiencing bear problems, are not considered bear habitat; those bear are NOT estimated.
The Black Bear Management Plan indicates a population of 2,705 – 2,942 bear in Florida per 2002 estimate. In 2012 they estimated 2,640 bear? Now suddenly 4,000 bear a year later??? And, bear are raising 2,000 cubs annually? Somehow their math simply doesn’t work!
Trying to understand this… Primary Black Bear Habitat has a carrying capacity of only so many animals. Once that carrying capacity is met, the bear move out of primary habitat. BUT… ONLY Primary Habitat is sampled in population estimates.
Understanding the sampling method, it’s reasonable to assume that once sustainable population is met, in any Primary Bear Habitat, it will never grow larger under the current sampling method, although bear numbers will continue to increase in surrounding habitat not sampled.
—
As far as Ms. Lopez’s comments – If fragmented populations somehow make bear “vulnerable to mortality from roads and proximity to urban areas” increasing the population beyond the carrying capacity of primary habitat reduces their chance of mortality HOW? Increasing the population, will only serve to make bear more vulnerable to those causes of mortality.
And, they know they will not get the Florida Black Bear relisted as endangered. They are hoping for a cease and desist order to stop the hunting season indefinitely, while tying FWC up in court arguing their case.
The Fwc allowed over 3000 irresponsible hunters loose on our bears last year and they slaughtered way more than what the FWC is admitting. Fwc officials are lying about this count. The count wasnt complete until after the bears were slaughtered and doesnt include bears that were poached,bears killed by baiting on private land, predetation an bears killed on our highways or by the FWC!!! They decimated the bear population beyond even their admitted expectations and are now trying to cover their behinds! THIS IS MY OPINION AND A LOT OF FLORIDIANS FEEL THE SAME WAY I DO. NO MORE BEAR HUNTS FWC! Leave them alone! Havent you done enough damage to them!!!
If they are designated an “Endangered Species” — there would be no control of their numbers !!!
let’s say there are 4000 bears now, if 2000 are born each year — in just 2 years the population doubles.
Where will they go ?
They are in peoples yards NOW !!!
How many will we have in 10 years ?
$500,000 to match local dollars ($1 million) so you can lock your garbage can.
If you have a bird feeder you will get a ticket for feeding the bears.
With the increase in population, how much more money and new regulations will we have to protect the precious bears from the evil people ?
A bear hunt would solve the problem !!!
I agree totally with the below. However, for some reason, a lot of information is missing. For example: one of the reasons Florida purchased all the land from the Barrineau property south along Perdido River and Alabama’s Forever Wild did the same from IP is to establish a corridor to the Mississippi Delta to bring back animals like the black bear to their natural habitats.
Yes, the population may be over abundant. Only in isolated areas instead of being spread out everywhere. I know of a few bears in the Northescambia area but considering the above, why not cature and relocate bears to the areas we’re spending vast amounts of money to bring them back to ? Does that not make more sense over hunting in the isolated areas they are ?
I am a hunter, a meat hunter. Yea, who doesn’t want a big buck, but I can picture some guy pulling up in his $60k pretty boy truck to unload his $20k polaris in his $500 hunting outfit to go get a bear. Dont forget the finger padded gloves so as to text on Facebook to everyone where he is and what he’s doing. Then, to get the bear just to mount and show off, not for the meat. Swallow the pride. That’s my rub with the bear hunt. Believe me, I like the liberal hippie love everyone freaks even less. At least the pretty hunters are trying to pretend to be country.
@ James,
I agree! Many of these radical animal rights people put animals on the same level as human beings. I am all for good stewardship of our wildlife and natural resources, but sometimes, the herd needs to be thinned for the benefit of all. These folks have “drunk the koolaid” and won’t hear anything other than their own rhetoric.
Jacki Lopez’s statement disregarding the new bear numbers despite having not reviewed the actual numbers is a clear indication the groups petitioning to protect the bears will not be satisfied until the bear hunt is completely eliminated and black bears are placed on a protected list. Lopez is clearly completely close-minded to any middle-ground or actual conservation efforts. These radical “conservation” groups would prefer bear numbers (and other species) to be so populated that the animals should suffer death resulting from starvation, disease, etc., rather than thrive through a conscious and effective conservation program.