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Black Bears
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A very handsome American black bear
 *This image is copyright of its original author
Today's news paper ( April 14, 2016 ) Northwest Florida Daily News.
Florida FWC sets sights on new bear hunt. Tallahassee. Armed with updated data showing a "robust" and growing black bear population, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is working toward holding another bear hunt. Commission Chairman Brian Yablonski on Wednesday directed staff and commissioners to prepare to discuss during a June meeting how a hunt could be managed. A commission spokeswoman later said a decision has not been made to hold a hunt. "There is a process of how the hunt is set up, what the quota objectives are," Yablonski said during a commission meeting in Jupiter. "There is a ton of options out there." The Florida Administrative Code already includes an outline for an annual bear hunt to be held in late October; and Yablonski said it's up to the commission to set quota numbers. The commission in October 2015 held its first bear hunt in more than two decades as a means to slow the increase of black bears in the state and to reduce dangerous interactions between bears and humans. But the hunt was highly controversial, with opponents protesting in various parts of the state. Jacki Lopez, the Center for Biological Diversity's Florida director, said Wednesday opponents have been anticipating the quota being on an upcoming agenda. ( to be continued ).
Post #3 continued... Conservation groups led 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.
The commission last year set a collective "harvest objective" of 320 bears that could be killed in four parts of the state opened for the hunt. The quota was based on an estimated 3,000-plus bears in the state. A limit of one bear per hunter was set. Hunting permits were sold at $100 to state residents and $300 fot people from out of state, with 3,778 sold in total. The 2015 hunt was projected to last up to a week. Instead, it was called off after two days as the bear death count quickly reached 304.
A reason for the hunt?
Black bears have reportedly killed 61 people across North America since 1900. http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/b...bears.html The average number of people killed by bears is one person every two years. https://historylist.wordpress.com/2008/0...y-animals/ I could find no reports of anyone being killed by a bear in Florida. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fa...th_America
According to facebook, which is not entirely scientific we might say, this big boy is straight out of hibernation. I would have thought he was prepared for beginning his long winter's sleep. https://www.facebook.com/groups/551392175000992/
 *This image is copyright of its original author
John E. Marriott Wildlife and Nature Photography:
A gorgeous cinnamon-coloured black bear in Jasper National Park.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Today's newspaper, Northwest Florida Daily News - April 21, 2016.
Bears kill dog, injure another - The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ( FWC ) is investigating two bear attacks that occurred in the Midway area during the past week. On April 13, a bear attacked and killed a dog on Soundside Drive. Another dog was attacked early Tuesday near Ponderosa Drive. The attacks were about 2 miles apart. Bekah Nelson, spokeswoman for FWC, said the second dog had attacked the bear, which swatted the dog and then ran away. "The dog went to the vet and is going to be OK," Nelson said. A biologist was sent Tuesday to canvass the area. A trap was set near the second attack that evening. A trap was set for four days near Soundside Drive, but it was not successful. Residents were told to report anything they see to the FWC and investigators "would go from there," Nelson said. Statewide, bear complaints have increased from more than 4,000 to more than 6,000 in the past year, according to the FWC. "It's slowly been increasing," Nelson said.
My take on post #8: Why would a black bear prowl around attacking dogs? I feel certain that it is the dog which initiates the confrontation. As for the "bear complaints"... all it takes for most people to call in a complaint is to see a bear. All of those complaints will likely lead up to the bear hunt as seen in posts #3 and #4.
  *This image is copyright of its original author Black Bear, Brown Cub photo
http://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/cou...-bear-hunt
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - If the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission decides to hold another bear hunt later this year, Volusia County officials don't want any part of it. The Volusia County Council on Thursday unanimously approved a "symbolic" resolution urging the commission to reinstate a prohibition on hunting Florida black bears. Council member Josh Wagner, who has purchased lifetime hunting licenses for himself and his two children, said the hunt goes against efforts and money spent to establish bear corridors and bear-management education programs. "There is nothing greater than being out in the wild with your kids and teaching them about guns and teaching them about safety and the importance of wildlife," Wagner said. "At the same time, some things don't need to be hunted." The Fish and Wildlife Commission last year lifted a ban on bear hunting that had been in place for decades and held a brief -- but controversial -- season in October. If the commission doesn't want to reenact the ban, Kelli McGee, Volusia County's director of growth and resource management, said the resolution also asks that the hunt not be held in the bear-management area that includes Volusia County. "If they won't restrict hunting statewide, perhaps they would restrict hunting in our area," McGee said. Volusia County is part of the Central bear management region, which includes the St. Johns River watershed and the Ocala National Forest. Fish and Wildlife Commission spokesman Tammy Sapp said Thursday in an email that the agency has been working with Volusia County to reduce the possibility of human-bear conflicts. "We respect the county's efforts to address the challenges associated with black bears," Sapp said. The state commission is expected during a meeting June 22 and June 23 in Apalachicola to discuss the possibility of holding another bear hunt. Bear-hunt opponents are working with Seminole County on a similar resolution to the one approved in Volusia. Jackie Lewis, a Deland resident who helped hunt opponents monitor the 2015 hunt, told the county council that educational efforts to reduce human-bear conflicts are more effective than hunts. "This is just as much an issue of justice and democracy as it is of environmental stewardship," said Lewis. "Poll after poll showed that the majority of Floridians, 75 percent, were opposed to this hunt." The 2015 hunt lasted two days and included the killing of 304 bears, with 21 in Volusia County. The commission estimates the state has 4,350 adult bears, with 1,230 in the Central region, which includes all or parts of Alachua, Bradford, Brevard, Clay, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Orange, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter and Volusia counties. The region's estimated bear population has grown nearly 20 percent since 2002. Volusia County has also accounted for 14 percent of the 25,728 calls received by the commission regarding human-bear conflicts from 2012 through 2015. This year, Florida lawmakers included $500,000 to reduce human-bear conflicts in the state's $82 billion budget. The money is earmarked to match local dollars in purchasing bear-resistant garbage containers. Sapp said the state agency is working with 14 counties that have the most incidents of human-bear conflicts, including Volusia, on ordinances needed to receive the state money.  *This image is copyright of its original author
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