- May 2, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
Recommendations from the wildlife commission worked for one neighborhood.
Bears became such a common sight in the Tomoka View neighborhood last year, that at the neighborhood Halloween party, they handed out bear whistles provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Resident Carolyn Hoffman said they felt better with the kids having whistles if they were going to go trick or treating.
“They were all blowing them when they left,” she said. “It was a noisy Halloween.”
Many Ormond Beach residents have either seen bears or heard about bears in their neighborhood. The FWC is currently conducting a state-wide census, and an official report on bear population and growth will be available next summer, according to spokesman Greg Workman. The agency is aware of the frequent sightings in Ormond Beach and have had meetings with residents.
“We know there’s been a lot of activity there in the past 12 months,” Workman said.
Carolyn’s husband, Harley, president of the Tomoka View/Tanglewood Civic Association, said during the past year and a half there were 50 bear sightings in the Tomoka View neighborhood.
“Some may have been the same bear but both large bears and cubs have been seen at one time or another,” he said.
He said they have had several meetings with officials from the FWC. He said they followed their suggestion of having a cooperative neighborhood program to deny the bears a food source, and so far it has worked.
“We have not had sightings for several weeks,” he said recently.
The residents take in bird feeders and pet foods, and put garbage out on the morning of pickup rather than the night before. They keep anything the bears might eat stored inside.
Carolyn Hoffman said a year ago she looked out the window and saw a bear pulling down bird feeders she had hung from a line stretching across the backyard.
“He would go over and get a drink from the bird bath and then go back to the feeders,” she said. “He really made himself at home. He would lie on his back and shake the feeder. He did not leave until he got every bit.”
The bear eventually jumped over a fence and disappeared into the woods.
Workman said bears passing through a neighborhood are not a concern, but if bears are lingering, people should notify FWC.
“We can figure out why they are sticking around and offer advice,” he said. “We don’t want bears lingering in neighborhoods, so proper trash storage is imperative,” he said.
If there is unusual behavior such as a bear breaking into an enclosure, the resident should call FWC immediately, he said.
According to information provided by the FWC, the black bear is one of Florida’s conservation success stories. There were just several hundred in the 1970s and there are more than 3,000 today.
In 2012, FWC commissioners approved the removal of the black bear from the list of state-threatened species and created a new rule that makes it illegal to injure or kill a bear or possess or sell bear parts. Black bears in Florida are not allowed to be taken as nuisance wildlife.
Workman said people can call the regional office at 352-732-1225 to make a report about a bear in their neighborhood. For information, visit myfwc.org, and search for “bears.”
Bear stats, courtesy FWC, Dec. 9, 2014
Calls from the public in Volusia County including sightings and damage.
2010 — 388
2011 — 530
2012— 742
2013 — 1,067
2014 to date — 923
Road kill in Volusia County
2010 — 10
2011 — 23
2012 — 33
2013 — 20
2014 to date — 9
