[CaptJohn]

Found Jimbo's picture:

[bestmickey]

PLEASE, don't hurt this bear. He's only looking to find food and survive. I pray he leaves on his own or that he's safely captured and relocated.

[dkrhardy]

Wow! But I just gotta ask ............. why is there a dumpster and a porta-potty there?

I also noted that the bear is roaming around on a trash day. Easy to find something to eat, I presume. Has anyone had their bags torn apart?

Don & Kaz

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by bestmickey

PLEASE, don't hurt this bear. He's only looking to find food and survive. I pray he leaves on his own or that he's safely captured and relocated.

If he was last seen 3.5 weeks ago, and no one else on TOTV has posted about it since then, he is probably out of the Villages.

[gmcneill]

Originally Posted by CaptJohn

Found Jimbo's picture:

That's It!!!

Maybe the Winnifred bear is looking for the Attic bear for the purpose of going on many meaningful picnics, with the ultimate intention of establishing a long-term exclusive commitment, at which time they will break out the fine china. It would make for a kod(i)ak moment.

[Patty55]

Do Florida bears hibernate?

[gmcneill]

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website:

Do Florida black bears hibernate? When are bears active? How long do bears hibernate?

In Florida, males and female bears that are not pregnant may den up in dense vegetation for only a few weeks or a month during the winter. Pregnant females will den up for the entire winter, and because their cubs are born in the den, they often select more protected sites. Black bear dens may be found in tree cavities, under blow-downs or fallen logs, or as ground nests in dense thickets.

Litters range from 1 to 5 cubs, but 2 or 3 are most common.

Bears can be active throughout the day depending upon the season, food resources and environment. Bears are generally more active at dusk, through the night and into dawn hours. For more "bear facts" go to The Florida Black Bear.

[Patty55]

Interesting, I was told up north not to worry about bears in the winter, guess in Fl you do have to.

[CaptJohn]

Originally Posted by gmcneill

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website:


Bears can be active throughout the day depending upon the season, food resources and environment. Bears are generally more active at dusk, through the night and into dawn hours. For more "bear facts" go to The Florida Black Bear.

That's a very good website. Be sure to view the bear video near the bottom.

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by Patty55

Interesting, I was told up north not to worry about bears in the winter, guess in Fl you do have to.

No, you do not have to "worry" about bears in Florida. The Villages covers many, many square miles and has a lot of natural conservation areas. There are animals, reptiles, and birds that live in those natural spaces year round and you never see them. Once in a while, they do come out usually at night on the golf courses or across a road, to move around to new territory.

It is nothing to "worry" about. You will not find a bear in your patio or at your front door. You will find a pack of cougars at Katie Belle's on a regular basis.

[Schaumburger]

Originally Posted by buggyone

No, you do not have to "worry" about bears in Florida. The Villages covers many, many square miles and has a lot of natural conservation areas. There are animals, reptiles, and birds that live in those natural spaces year round and you never see them. Once in a while, they do come out usually at night on the golf courses or across a road, to move around to new territory.

It is nothing to "worry" about. You will not find a bear in your patio or at your front door. You will find a pack of cougars at Katie Belle's on a regular basis.

[Dirigo]

Having lived with critters all my life I can assure you that they are more afraid of you than you are of them. They usually smell you long before they see you and they clear out.

That said, do not approach wildlife too closely; always watch from a distance.

We observed a coyote for several hours one day in back of our house in Liberty Park (in the eagle preserve). I have seen a shadowy dog-like figure walk on the back side of the trademark Morse fence in the middle of the night in our back yard.

I think I may have seen a jaguarundi Jaguarundi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia on our patio in the middle of the night about 10 days ago. I purchased and set up a game camera to see if I can get a photo of it should it come back.

We spray our trash bags with ammonia when we set our garbage out to keep the coyotes from ripping into the bags.

Enjoy the wildlife. We certainly do. But remember that they can become aggressive and used to people so for gosh sake's DON'T FEED WILDLIFE.

[duffysmom]

Dirigo please keep us informed. A camera that captures wildlife in your backyard is incredible. If it is a jaguarundi, maybe it's best to keep it quiet; the Morse family love animal trophies.

[jackz]

The bear was last sighted in the backyard of "Unhappy Now's" neighbor in his new bushes.

Sources report that he arrived in a Red Corvette.

[BritParrothead]

There have been many reports in the past few months of black bears on the Hwy 27, in and around the 50, and 2 were captured and rehomed near the Orange Tree development, on 27. Usually these have been young bears and mama has always been close by!