295 bears killed as Florida hunt ends
Nearly three times quota killed in Panhandle region
- Hunters killed fewer bears than the statewide allowance of 320
Update 9:25 p.m. Sunday
Florida's first bear hunt in 21 years came to an end Sunday after a two-day season.
In all, 295 bears killed across the state were reported when the hunt was ended by state wildlife officials at 9 p.m. Sunday. Hunters came in just shy of the statewide quota of 320 set by Florida Fish and WIldlife Conservation commissioners, which took into account the estimated black bear population of Florida.
The hunt was slated to last seven days or until the quota was reached.
The FWC is reporting 112 black bears were killed on the first day in the eastern part of the Panhandle, nearly three times the quota established before the hunt.
One of the four bear management units in the state where hunting was allowed, the eastern Panhandle region stretches from Madison County to Washington County. The quota in the 13-county swath was set at 40. The area includes the Apalachicola National Forest, home to one of the state's largest black bear populations.
The high success rate of hunters in the Panhandle points toward a larger than expected bear population in the area, FWC officials said.
Totals increased past what was reported Saturday during the first day of the hunt because woodsmen had 12 hours to get their kills to an FWC check station and were still coming in Sunday.
Bear hunting totals
- East Panhandle BMU - 112 bears
- Central BMU - 139 bears
- North BMU - 23 bears
- South BMU - 21 bears
Original story
Hunters in the eastern part of the Panhandle killed 81 bears during the first day of the first season since 1994, twice as many as the quota set by Florida’s wildlife officials.
The 13-county area, along with the central region along the east coast, is now closed to bear hunting and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials say the totals showed that the bear population in the area is on the rise.
“The harvest success in the East Panhandle (bear management unit), while higher than expectations, is an indicator of the region’s increasing bear population,” said FWC Spokeswoman Tammy Sapp in a news release distributed to provide daily updates on what has become a controversial hunt.
The eastern Panhandle region stretches from Madison County to Washington County and includes the Apalachicola National Forest, home to one of the largest bear populations in the state.
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In total, the 3,778 permit holders killed 207 bears across the state during the first day of the hunt. A statewide quota of 320 has been set and given Saturday’s results, is likely to be met Sunday.
“FWC took a conservative approach to setting harvest objectives, building in buffers so the number of bears harvested will stabilize growing populations while ensuring healthy bear numbers,” Sapp wrote.
Check stations in the eastern panhandle and the central region will remain open until noon. Hunters are required to bring killed bears to check stations within 12 hours.
The north and south bear management units remain open. Twelve and 15 bears were killed in those regions Saturday.
Hunters far outnumber bears that could be killed
The hunt has become divisive as animal groups looked to stop it through legal challenges and claim that hunting bears so soon after they were taken off the endangered species list, 2012, is detrimental to their populations.
FWC biologists estimate 3,500 black bears live in Florida, but a statewide count, including in the East Panhandle region, is likely to be completed next year. The last time the population was tallied was 2002.
The hunt was touted as a portion of an over all plan to manage the growing bear population. FWC commissioners approved the hunt in June after a stark increase in human-bear interaction calls to the agency and a series of attacks in Central Florida suburban neighborhoods and one in the Panhandle last year.
Included in that plan is a push toward education, waste management in the form of bear-resistant trash cans and relocation of nuisance bears.
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The sale of the licenses brought in $376,900, which is slated to go toward funding efforts to reduce human conflicts with bears using better trash management.
The agency will notify hunters who provided contact information of season closures through text messages and emails but is also tasking them with the responsibility of knowing whether the season has closed before heading into the woods.
Hunters can call the bear hunting hotline at 844-392-2327, by checking myfwc.com/hunting or through FWC's social media pages to see if a hunting area remains open.
Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.