SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has captured and released a black bear that had a bucket stuck around its head.
According to wildlife officials, the bear was first spotted behind a home on County Road 647 South in Sumter County. The Bear Management Program worked quickly to set up traps in the area.
Recommended Videos
On Friday, FWC announced it caught the male bear and removed the chicken feeder bucket from around its head before releasing it in the general area where it was captured.
The bear was around 150 pounds and had no injuries to its neck from the object.
Shortly before the bucket was removed, FWC snapped a photo of the bear in the trap.
Florida’s black bears are more active in the spring, searching for things to eat, including female bears that are teaching their cubs where to look for food.
This week, Florida became one step closer to a black bear hunt after wildlife officials gave preliminary approval for the first hunt since 2015. The proposed hunt that would take place in December.
The agency said a little more than 4,000 black bears are in Florida. There have been notable encounters with bears this spring, including a Seminole County woman who fended off a bear with a bag of cookies.
On May 5, an 89-year-old man and his dog were fatally attacked by a black bear in Jerome, marking the first recorded deadly bear attack in the state’s history.
To learn more about bears and how to avoid conflicts with them, visit this FWC page, or click here for the BearWife program.
Please contact the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) if you feel threatened by a bear; observe a sick, injured, dead or orphaned bear; or to report someone who is either harming bears or intentionally feeding them.
Here are some other BearWise® Basics to keep in mind:
- Never feed or approach bears
- Remove bird feeders when bears are active
- Feed your pets inside if possible and never leave pet food outdoors
- Clean and store your grills and smokers
- Secure food, garbage and recycling
- Alert your neighbors to bear activity in the area
- Pick ripe fruit from trees and bushes and remove fallen fruit from the ground.
- Protect gardens, beehives, compost and livestock with electric fencing.