Bear found roaming around Homestead, caught and released
Homestead, Florida. – The bear, which was seen roaming around Homestead last week, was captured over the weekend and released into the state’s forest, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials have confirmed.
Surveillance video of the home caught the bear walking through the Oasis Islands off Pacific Drive and Southwest 147th Avenue around 10 p.m. Thursday.
An FWC spokeswoman said the 200-pound bear was captured around noon on Saturday and released the next morning in the Picayune Strand State Forest in Collier County.
“At this time of the year, the bears are more active. Young bears are starting to separate from their mothers and can be seen in unexpected places as they head to other habitats and tend to leave on their own,” spokeswoman Ariel Callender said in an email to Local 10 News.
Bear sightings in southeast Florida are rare, according to a map provided by the FWC, but Callender said a bear in a residential area need not be alarming.
Bear presence in Florida in 2020. (Map provided by FWC)
“However, it is important that residents stock up on food attractants so that bears do not linger in the area. If the bear cannot find food, it will move on,” she said.
FWC officials are warning the public to never approach or feed a bear.
To learn more about bears and how to avoid conflicts with them, visit MyFWC.com/Bear or BearWise.org.
If you feel threatened by a bear, see someone hurt or feed a bear, or notice an injured, sick, dead, or orphaned bear, call the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922 ).
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