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Bear euthanized after venturing into
Jacksonville neighborhood
May 4, 2007
Contact: Karen Parker (386) 758-0525
A bear that ventured into a Jacksonville
neighborhood Friday was too comfortable around people to return
to the wild. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
(FWC) officials had no choice but to euthanize the animal.
“Public safety has to be our highest priority,”
said Karen Parker, spokeswoman for the FWC. “We had relocated
the bear several times in the past, and it continued to return
to residential areas. That made it a potentially dangerous
animal, leaving us no option but to euthanize the bear instead
of releasing him as we had planned to do.”
The first time the bear, designated N-36 by the
tag in his ear, got into conflict with the human population was
in December 2005 when the FWC captured him in Seminole County
and moved him to the Ocala National Forest. He then reappeared
in Green Cove Springs in June 2006 and was returned to Ocala.
At the scene of Friday’s Jacksonville incident,
FWC biologists thought they would be relocating him to the
Osceola National Forest in Columbia County, but the animal’s
record indicated that course of action could have placed people
at risk.
“It was a difficult decision. Our biologists
hated to have to put this animal down. However, we have to face
reality and think about public safety,” Parker said.
Biologists determined that at some point in the
bear’s life, people fed him, even though that is illegal. As a
result, the animal lost his natural fear of people and continued
to show up in neighborhoods. It could have been just a matter of
time before something much more tragic than the bear’s humane
euthanasia happened, Parker said.
“When a bear is fed, either intentionally or
unintentionally, this can be the consequence,” Parker said.
“Please, don’t feed bears. Enjoy them from a distance, but do
not feed them.”
It is illegal to feed bears intentionally.
However, the animals also can get into garbage cans or pet food
left out in back yards. Bears also raid bird feeders.
FWC has a “Living with Bears” brochure available
for downloading at
MyFWC.com/bear/brochures/Livin_Bear_Cntry.pdf.
This brochure gives homeowners good information about what to do
if they see a bear.
While there are no documented bear attacks in
Florida, black bears are large, powerful creatures.
“Even though they appear gentle, bears, like
alligators, can become habituated and begin to associate humans
with food,” Parker said. “We humanely euthanized the bear this
afternoon.”
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