Defenders' Experts
Human and Bear Conflicts
Human-bear interactions have been on the increase in Carrabelle and throughout Franklin County in the Florida Panhandle. Dumpsters at restaurants and the school and residential cans are all raided by bears.
The Carrabelle High School (K-12) dumpster, which is next to the playground, has been a persistent attractant for bears for years. A bear killed goats in late 2006 and several people have been advocating that bear hunting be legalized in the area. Town residents do not take measures to prevent human-bear conflicts, and instead call FWCC to trap and relocate the bears that get into trash or harm livestock that have been left in the open.
Bear Euthanized at Housing Complex
In Carrabelle, a bear was euthanized on April 4, 2007 after FWCC biologists witnessed an eight-year-old boy feeding a bear out of the palm of his hand. Residents of a housing complex, next to a K-12 school, had been dumping their trash behind the building that abuts a densely wooded area and bears had learned to come there to eat. The bear had developed a habit of showing up when the children got out of school because they were feeding him cereal.
Garbage Management is Key to Avoiding Conflict
Improved management of garbage and a long-term education program are needed urgently, beginning with Carrabelle, and extending throughout Franklin County. The county has 12,000 residents and is growing rapidly.
Defenders and “Bear Your Responsibility” partners, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the US Forest Service, are working with the communities around Carrabelle to bring about several changes.
- Assist the City to contract with a waste management firm that offers bear resistant containers and waste disposal methods that prevent bear problems,
- Educate school children
- Establish a bear-friendly community in Franklin County through public outreach, useful informational materials, and cost share programs.
By far the single biggest factor in encouraging people to take care of their homes and property in a way that is compatible with bears, is explaining that human-bear conflicts are almost always based on the availability of human food sources. Bears are opportunistic with a keen sense of smell and an excellent spatial memory. These traits, their wide ranging habits and need to fatten up for the winter denning period lead them to human food sources that are high in protein and energy. And they head for easy food sources:
Typical attractants to bears include:
- garbage
- pet food
- grains
- wildlife feeders (including backyard bird and squirrel feeders), BBQ grills, and bee hives
Remember, even though these items seem like minor things to us, they influence bears in powerful ways and greatly affect their movements and behavior. Bears that gain access to human foods quickly learn to associate people with food and gradually loose their natural fear and timidness around humans. These bears gradually become bolder and bolder, moving from quick forays at night into human areas to extended stays throughout the day.
Not all areas of the state have the same level of human-bear interactions. The central Florida counties of Seminole, Lake, Marion and Sumter have the majority of reported human-bear conflicts. This is essentially the suburban and rural areas around the cities of Orlando and Ocala, where there is a high density of bears and people crowded into the same area. Central Florida represents the future of the rest of the state if current trends persist.
Since 1995, human-bear interactions have been reaching critical levels that threaten to undermine bear conservation efforts. In 2006 there were a record high number of bear related calls to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Increases can be due in part to extended droughts that cause bears to move further in search of food. Even without drought, as bear and human populations continue to expand, we expect the rising trend to continue.
However, with dedicated efforts to reduce the attractiveness and availability of human food sources, we can make a difference and increase the probability of keeping bears wild in Florida into the future.
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