Too bad Florida did not open a tag season for bear in the panhandle - would love to have this big boy go away - permanently. I have to admit - he is a nightly visitor and so far only eats what is on the ground and not messed with the feeder.
We have at least 2 roaming our lease. One has a habit of dumping a feeder over and jumping on it to get it open...would just as soon have none - at least as long as we can't hunt them...:laser:
Florida needs to get serious about the bear population. Unfortunately,they STILL have not. Even more unfortunate,what needs to happen is this: Someone of influence in the state,someone worth big bucks,some senator or congressman,some celebrity,needs to have their 6 year old daughter dragged off into the woods and mauled by a 400+lb black bear. "Better" still,a bear that the FWC has had complaints filed against already. This needs to happen in some damned fancy,yuppie,tree/bunny hugger neighborhood while onlookers "watch in horror" and screaming .... "somebody get a gun,doesn't anybody have a gun,deer God,someone do something".
Obviously I do not wish this on any individual or family ... however ... this is usually how things like this get ... FINALLY done. --- SAWMAN
Agree Sawman - the Eglin population is by all accounts pretty large and during the spring they wander as far as GB. When I lived a black bear walked thru my neighborhood, got on a neighbors boat then wander of into the GINS. All the time followed by SR sheriff until he entered GINS - that's when the sheriff handed off protection of the bear to the Park Ranger. That was daylight - I really don't want to run into a bear heading to or from my stand in the dark...would need a change of clothes for sure
I have one small honey bear that visits my powerline crossing occasionally. I have no problem with it as long as no other
larger friends come around. when I feed my wild quail in the afternoons, Ithink I have seen some movement from the honey bear.
tracks don't lie.....trail cams are stored now so no one will steal them.
......."honey bear" ....... ? What kinda bear is that .. ? .. a new species.
When m y wife and I hunted Eglin back in 2003-2008 there were an overabundance of bear(black)in there then. We saw evidence of their activity almost every time we hunted. Talking with the dog hunters back then,they also had some problems with the bear. The FWC guys and the federal wardens did not seem to want to confront/handle this problem even back in those days. I even had a FWC warden tell me at one point,in front of about 5 more hunters(on RR211 at Hwy 87) ..... "if there is a bear problem it is caused by the hunters baiting deer". We all just laughed and walked away.
Talking with other hunters,they had pics of bear on their game cams fairly close to the trucks,dog pens at the corners of the range roads,and even trying to climb the ladder stands. Gotta say,my experiences in Eglin and hunting Escambia River WMA gave me incentive to join a hunting club. I hear this more and more from other hunters also. --- SAWMAN
He is a constant visitor but still remains polite - checked out the spinner plate but the feeder remained upright and full intact as of Sunday morning.