Posted on 06/11/2018 7:35:14 PM PDT by SJackson
FORT MYERS, Fla. (WLS) -- A bear wandering near a Fort Myers, Florida school on Monday has been caught and relocated.
WZVN reports the black bear was hanging around an apartment complex with a school just a block away. The school was put on lockdown as a precaution- no one was hurt. But it is unusual to see a black bear so close to downtown. With a little help from waffles, syrup and wildlife officials...he was tracked down in hours.
"He was hopping around and he was having a good time. He didn't want to go," said Brittani Morgan. "I seen a big cage from all the way over there where I live," said Morgan's daughter.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) says the black bear is a yearling male, meaning he's older than one and able to sustain himself away from his mother. But clearly, he was hungry for a sweet breakfast. Neighbors watched as the trappers lured the bear into a cage.
"They got a box of waffles in this container and they stashed the waffles inside the container and threw it into the cage," said Morgan.
"That's smart. I wouldn't have thought about that," said Rycky Garcia who lives in a nearby apartment complex.
There were no reports of injuries or property damage to the apartment complex, and WZVN found out it's likely we'll be seeing more bears in our area over the next few months because June kicks off black bear mating season -- which means more bears are out and about.
"Exciting morning, yup. I wasn't expecting to wake up and come out my house to see a bear, bears in the hood," said Garcia.
FWC says there are about 4,000 bears in Florida and trappers will be releasing this guy back into the wild.
Statewide, FWC received 6,226 bear-related calls in 2017.
In the south unit, which includes Lee and Collier counties, FWC received 584 bear related calls over the same time.
We use Ivory dish soap.
It doesn’t smell like much to me.
Now Dawn on the other hand...
Get a trail camera and set it up in your back yard and try it. It always surprises me what’s wandering by my Idaho home. Where I live I expect things but you never know what’s cruising by. They-clicked a picture of a mountain lion 100 miles or so from St Louis last year. Checking the pictures is like opening Xmas presents. Fun for the family and maybe a wake up call.
“Guys who bait for bears like old donuts, cinnamon rolls, out dated fruit pies etc.”
When I was a kid, my mom was a surgical nurse for an eye doctor who would throw an annual party for his staff and families at his place in the country. The highlight of the evening was putting out such old bakery items from a local steakhouse on the back patio. We kids were fascinated to watch the raccoons and opossums show up to feast on the tasty & sweet bounty. This was in southern KS so no bears in the neighborhood but a raccoon is a cousin to a bear.
Google says they are 80% vegetarian, and that grass and leaves make up much of their diet.
Bears eating grass and leaves? Never would have guessed that.
I figured fish, turtles, and crustaceans would be their primary food.
Bears eat anything that has food value.
Bears eat anything that has food value.
Unless they moved it at least 100 miles it well be back in a few days.
Hey, Boo Boo. Lookie here. Eggos with Mrs Butterworth!
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