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Black Bear
People drive an estimated 246 million miles on roads in Florida each day and many of the byways crisscross significant conservation areas in Florida, including all five core areas for Florida black bears. Roads and bears mean only one thing: more dead bears.
Roads are considered the leading cause of Florida bear mortality. Nearly 20 acres of wildlife habitat are being lost to development every hour in Florida, one of the most rapidly urbanizing states in the nation, and most development projects involve roadbuilding. According to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), the state's high-speed paved roads have increased at the rate of 4.5 miles per day over the last 50 years. Speed has also become a critical player in bear mortality. More than 800 bears are documented to have been killed by vehicles since 1976. In 1998, a record 90 bears were killed state-wide in collisions with vehichles. Moreover, the bear continues to be threatened by road-widening projects through the bear habitat. Road-widening projects increase the danger of vehicle-caused mortality and the possibility of extinction by reducing population size and isolating individuals from food, shelter and mates.
Defenders of Wildlife strives to ameliorate the
problems associated with bear/car conflicts by incorporating structures like
underpasses, overpasses/landbridges and ecoducts into regional transportation
plans.
