Monday, April 14, 2014

Speak To Bears In 'Calm, Assertive Voice' Says FWC

Another Bear Killed By FWC Officers In Orlando Area
LAKE MARY, FL. -- Monday morning the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission captured another bear that approached staff as they were on the scene of a recent bear attack in the Carisbrooke neighborhood of Lake Mary in Seminole County.

Because this bear showed no fear of people, staff determined that it was a threat to public safety and needed to be put down.

“The fact that we have come across so many bears with so little fear of humans indicates that these bears are highly habituated and are regularly receiving food from people,” said Dave Telesco, the FWC’s Bear Program coordinator. “Our staff is dedicated to wildlife conservation. Having to put down these bears is a very difficult decision, but it’s the right decision to ensure public safety. Unfortunately, the saying is true: ‘a fed bear is a dead bear.’”

FWC staff will remain in the area and continue trapping efforts to remove any bears demonstrating this lack of fear. No action will be taken against bears that display normal wild bear behavior and avoid human contact.

The FWC reminds residents in this area to be aware of their surroundings and always supervise pets and children while outdoors. The FWC relies on residents to report threatening bear behavior. Residents should contact the FWC’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) to report any threatening bear activity.

If you encounter a bear at close range, remain standing upright and speak to the bear in a calm, assertive voice. Back up slowly toward a secure area, and be sure you are leaving the bear a clear escape route. Stop and hold your ground if your movement away seems to irritate instead of calm the bear. Do not run or play dead. If a black bear attacks you, fight back aggressively.

1 comment:

  1. How about the reality that each and every day our urban wildlife is becoming more accustomed to humans as part of their natural world. They have no choice. If we don't tweak our parameters of what defines "natural fear of people", or "normal behavior", we will need to kill every wild animal in every neighborhood soon. Too many already want to.
    Feeding, be it intentional or not, is NOT the only assumption we can make today.
    Simply needing to survive and simply being forced to coexist is an evolving reason that wild animals, sightings and perceived conflicts are going to increase. They are evolving faster than we are.
    We need to revisit and redefine the definition of "nuisance". A healthy, normal acting raccoon seen during the day, and opossum stepping on a .79 cent plant, a bear getting into an open dumpster... and a growing human population that knows less and less about wild animals today? Bad recipe; we have to play more fair.

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