Sanibel Island, which is two-thirds a nature preserve, is not the native home to bear, but one young male did find his way to the Island a little over a month ago.
Whether he was attracted by the lure of some place new, was aware that no harm would come to him from humans on the extreme-pet friendly barrier island, or somehow intuited that there were sweets aplenty on Sanibel, the "little" guy made his way over and caused quite a stir among residents and visitors alike.
Based on a photo taken, the baby black bear is believed to be about a year and a half old and weighing between 40 and 60 pound. But how does a creature that makes it's home inland and usually in northern Florida, get to an island? He might have been island hopping from the mainland. He could have easily swam part of the way, walked part of the way during the low tide it has been suggested.
Because Islanders are so animal crazy, the bear might have had a happy home for life here, but doing what bears do naturally, he sought out a special treat and now has become bear-non grata.
Wildlife officials decided to capture and relocate the male bear because he raided a beekeeper’s beehives a couple of weeks ago, creating $20,000 worth of damage, most of it in the consumption of honey. It was a joint decision for the safety of the bear, it would be better off relocated somewhere else.
Up to this point, I have not been concerned, hoping that the bear would go on his own.
But according to the reports I have been reading, the bear has not been spotted in a while.
And that has me thinking.
It's a jungle out there for the bear. The humans will capture him safely and humanely if he is still on island. But there's no telling what a hungry alligator or two will do. While our two legged visitors know better than to go near the lagoons and ponds where the gators hang out, this immature bear has no inkling of the dangers that exist.
At this point, I will only rest easy when the bear has been found and relocated.
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