Panthers and Bears, Oh My…..

Panthers and Bears, Oh My…..

When most people think of Florida, they think of sunshine and sandy beaches.

And this is partly true, but there is more to Florida than a glorious lifestyle of mild weather.

When the Captain and I moved to Florida …I was surprised to learn of all the different types of wildlife, many of them endangered and many that are just simply beautiful to watch.

There are the common animals like deer, alligators, lizards and other reptiles, sharks, parrots, brightly colored birds such as the Bunting….. and the most beautiful butterflies in shades of blue and green that I have ever seen

Of course, everyone has heard of manatees…I posted about them a couple years ago.  See link below.

Gentle Giants…Manatees…Sea Cows…

And I have posted about the Little Burrowing Owls, the Florida Scrub Jay and of course the infamous Eagles, Ozzie and Harriet…see links below.

Little Burrowing Owls

The Blue Bird of Happiness…Florida Scrub-Jay!

Ozzie and Harriet News!

But Florida also has panthers…. and black bears. 

Panthers are native to SW Florida and many are killed on our highways.

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It is always sad to pick up the morning paper and see yet another death of these beautiful creatures.

In my research, I found that in 2014, a Florida panther was hit by a car and killed, on average, once every two weeks.  

It’s a staggering amount for an endangered species.  

Thirty-three of the endangered cats died last year — 25 were hit by cars.  

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To best understand the issue, you have to start with this fact: panthers need a lot of space.

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“That requires them to cross roads.  When you have panthers crossing roads and lots of people driving, the inevitable will happen.

Plus, by building more sub-divisions, we are slowly pushing their habitat further and further into the Everglades.

The panther below was caught and tranquilized in a prominent Naples neighborhood.  It was given a special tracking collar and released back into the wild. 

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Florida’s black bear population is growing and so is the debate on how to handle them.

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There is talk of having a bear hunting season which I have mixed feelings about.  

Bears, like panthers are certainly dangerous… especially when you have them tearing open the screen on a pool and relaxing by the pool as in the pic above.

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And the black bear likes to visit our parks where they raid the trash cans in search of easy pickings for food. 
One has to remember that this is not a National Park such as Yellowstone…this is the Floridian’s back yard. 
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Many advocates of a hunting season for bears, believe that Florida’s bear population has grown to a level which it can sustain a limited harvest and reduce the nuisance bear encounters and bear attacks. The estimation is about 2500 black bears are roaming around Southwest Florida.
 
One such mother bear, with two little cubs, attacked a woman as she rolled her trash can out to the curb. Luckily, she was able to get away but not before the bear clawed at her and chased her into her garage.
 
And to answer your question, the lady’s home backed up to forests and swamps.
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I have to confess that our home is not near these panther and bear habitats.
 
Our little Cape is sort of a refuge of its own, with bear and panther habitats more in the middle forest and swampy corridor of the state.
 
It appears being coastal and more “citified” with water on three sides of the Cape is a good thing. 😉
 
So dear readers, do you have thoughts on bear hunting season or any wild life that has had to “move” because of urban expansion?
 
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4 Comments

    1. I agree Sandy…that is why I have such mixed feelings about them. Panthers too. I also hate to see the destruction of our forests all over the country.
      It really isn’t fair to the animals.
      thanks for stopping by.

    2. I just re-read my post and realized I didn’t voice that I am NOT in favor of a bear hunting season. Many of the intrusions of black bears are at houses built very near their habitat.

      Plus, I don’t think 2500 is an over abundance of black bears….and as Sandy so aptly stated….the panthers and bears were here first.

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