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Florida black bears are mostly black in color with a brown nose and are Florida's largest native terrestrial mammal. Their main habitats include scrubland, hardwood forest, and wetlands.

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Least Concern

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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Due to the dramatic increase in Florida's population and the recovery of the Florida Black Bear population, there has been some human wildlife conflict. This has led to many management strategies on how to prevent this negative interaction.

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Florida black bears are mainly solidary and reclusive. They are less likely to defend their territory like other bear species. Breeding season occurs in late summer (June to August). Cubs are born in dens during winter and stay with their mother about a year and a half.

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Living in Florida often means close encounters with - sometimes scary - wildlife.

While it's not uncommon to hear of snake, shark or even gator sightings, people have been coming face to face with a more unexpected creature in recent years.

Recent viral videos have shown an increasing number of encounters between bears and humans in Florida neighborhoods.

But why are these sightings becoming more frequent, and how can humans protect themselves from a bear encounter?

Which kind of bears live in Florida?

When we talk about bears in Florida, we're talking about black bears, which are the only species of bear found in the Sunshine State.

FWC biologists estimate that there are approximately 4,050 black bears in Florida today.

Adult male black bears usually weigh between 250 to 350 lbs, while females usually weigh between 130 and 180 lbs.

The largest adult male black bear in Florida weighed 760 lbs and the largest adult female weighed 460 lbs.

According to the FWC, adult male black bears usually live within a 60 square mile area, whereas females usually live within a 15 square mile area.

In Florida, black bear breeding season runs from June to August and cubs are born early in the following year. Female bears have their first litter at about 3 ½ years old and generally have a litter every other year.

Why are bear encounters becoming more common in Florida?

Since the 1980s, the black bear population has been expanding along with our human population, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Florida has grown from about 5 million residents in 1960 to over 20 million today, which has resulted in urban sprawl throughout the state.

"Urban sprawl is encroaching on traditionally remote areas, bringing people into prime bear habitat," the FWC website states. "As a result, bears and people are encountering each other more than ever."

While maps from the FWC show fewer bear sightings in Southeast Florida compared to other parts of the state, they still happen.

Just a few months ago, a black bear was seen running around a Homestead neighborhood, and even walking up to one resident's door.

How to keep bears away from houses and neighborhoods

"Bears are basically just looking for food primarily," FWC Bear Biologist Mike Orlando told NBC affiliate WESH-TV. "It's all they're doing, looking for food all the time."

Many of the viral bear encounters we've seen in Florida have shown bears getting into our food supply - from stealing drinks out of a family's fridge to swiping Chick-fil-A off a man's doorstep.

While Ring camera video of a bear on your front step sounds pretty cool, the FWC advises that the best way to enjoy bears is from a distance.

This means keeping them away from food sources like garbage, pet food, and birdseed.

"It only takes one person to leave out their garbage or pet food for them to continue that behavior," said Orlando.

New technology is designed to help keep bears away from our trash and homes, from bear-resistant trash can attachments to motion-activated water sprinklers, alarms and air horns.

However, sometimes even empty trash cans and bird feeders can attract bears because they know what they look like.

What threat do bears pose to our pets?

Dogs and bears simply don't get along, and experts say a leash makes all the difference.

Orlando says that while a dog may bark, it cannot engage with the bear while on a leash. This means the bear will not feel the need to defend itself because the dog isn't approaching.

A viral video from over the summer shows Ring camera footage of a Florida woman leaving her home to walk her dog, when a black bear showed up at her front doorstep.

Her dog, which was luckily on a leash, began barking loudly at the sight of the bear, which - combined with the woman's screams - scared the bear right off.

How to stay safe if you encounter a bear

Bears are excellent climbers and often climb trees when they are frightened.

But what happens when the bear frightens you?

Orlando says it's most important to stay calm and not try to run from the bear.

"If you see a bear and you run the opposite direction, the bear is gonna go, 'Hey, that thing's running! I have to chase it!' and they may not even know why," said Orlando. "But it's part of their biology."

Instead, if you encounter a bear in your neighborhood, you'll want to make yourself seem really large and speak in a loud, firm voice. Then, you can slowly retreat into your house.

If you're out on a walk and there's no place to retreat, experts say carrying bear spray is also a good idea.

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Why are bear encounters increasing in Florida? How to keep your family and pets safe

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As black bear encounters become more common in Florida, here's how you and your pets can stay safe and keep bears away from your home and neighborhood.

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Over the past several months, there has been an effort to pass legislation to allow a property owner to shoot a bear if they feel threatened.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - In an issue stemming from complaints about bears in Northwest Florida, the state House on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would bolster self-defense arguments for people who kill bears on their property.

The House on Thursday voted 83-28 to pass the bill (HB 87), which opponents said will result in increased deaths of once-threatened bears.

The Senate approved the measure Feb. 21, meaning it is now ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis. Senators changed an earlier House version of the bill by spelling out that self-defense protections wouldn't be available to people who lure bears with food or in other ways for purposes such as training dogs to hunt bears.

The House accepted the change on Thursday before passing the bill. House sponsor Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, said state law already prohibits people using treats such as "doughnuts or honey" to lure bears.

The bill, in part, says people would not be subject to penalties for killing bears if they "reasonably believed that his or her action was necessary to avoid an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to himself or herself or to another, an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to a pet or substantial damage to a dwelling."

People who shoot bears would be required to notify the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission within 24 hours and show they did not intentionally place themselves or pets in situations where they needed to kill bears. Also, people would not be allowed to possess or sell bear carcasses after the killings.

Shoaf unsuccessfully pushed the proposal in recent years, but the issue drew attention in September when Franklin County Sheriff A.J. Smith said his rural community was "being inundated and overrun by the bear population." Shoaf and Senate bill sponsor Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, represent sprawling rural districts that include Franklin County.

Critics of the bill said the state and communities should focus on securing garbage so bears will not be attracted to homes. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's BearWise program outlines steps such as telling people not to feed bears, to clear grills, make trash less accessible, remove bird feeders when bears are active and to not leave pet food outside.

Rep. Katherine Waldron, D-Wellington, argued the bill is "based on fear and not facts."

"Make no mistake, this bill was created by and for people looking for any excuse to be able to hunt and kill a bear," Waldron said. "In this bill, there are no mechanisms in place to prevent people from killing too many bears."

Killing bears has long been a controversial issue in the state. Florida's last sanctioned bear hunt was in 2015, though calls have continued for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to approve another hunt.

Bill supporters Thursday pointed to increased incidents of bears venturing into residential communities in Northwest Florida, with Rep. Joel Rudman, R-Navarre, saying there's "going to be no mass murders of bears."

"In our neck of the woods, we have a huge, tremendous amount of property that humans are not allowed to go on. It's called the Eglin (Air Force Base) reservation," Rudman said. "We're talking 474,000 acres where these bears should stay, but they don't. They travel off the reservation and they come into our neighborhoods. These are neighborhoods that have been established since 1980."

Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, said bears threaten farmers' livestock in her district.

"We do have bear-proof garbage cans," Tant said. "And you know what, oftentimes, after the garbage is picked up, the tops are not secured again. So, the bears come back and come back and come back."

The state had about 4,050 bears, according to a 2017 estimate by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the most recent available data.

The numbers had fallen to between 300 to 500 in the 1970s, but the species was able to rebound while listed by the state as threatened. That designation was lifted in 2012 when a new management plan was approved.
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Florida bill on shooting bears in self-defense goes to DeSantis

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In an issue stemming from complaints about bears in Northwest Florida, the state House on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would bolster self-defense arguments for people who kill bears on their property.

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The Florida black bear is a top predator in the ecosystem despite the fact they rarely eat other animals. They are great seed dispersers and they are also scavengers helping clean up dead caucuses.

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Management Strategies include:

Relocation

Bearproof trash cans

Wildlife corridors

Experimental hunts

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The black bear's diet includes berries, stems, nuts, acorns, along with insects and sometimes mesomammals like racoons and armadillos.

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Florida black bears have one of the most plant and invertebrate focused diet of any bears. One interesting fact to point out is that as their scrub habitat decreases due to cattle farms, they will almost entirely rely on cow feed (like corn and grain). This can cause the bears to become overweight and lethargic.

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Florida black bears have a high cultural significance in the Native American culture. They usually represent strength, courage, and protection. However, in modern media they are portrayed as cute and cuddle despite being dangerous.

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Due to the near extinction of the Florida Black Bear, certain populations recovered a lot quicker than others. This has caused connectivity issues between the populations, which has led to some genetic inbreeding.

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This could have detrimental effects to the population as the bears are just now genetically recovering from years of overhunting and habitat loss.