Surprising to many, Florida is black bear country. Due to a loss of habitat, sightings are on the rise and the chances of encountering the mammal are greater than they’ve ever been in the past 100 years. Nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and concerned citizens are working together to best manage the dynamic nature of growth and conservation—ensuring a portion of Florida remains forever wild.
With its thick, dark pelage, it is hard to imagine the cumbrous and burly bear would find a swampy peninsula within a subtropical climate an acceptable place to settle. Before Florida was inhabited by humans, it was home to a subspecies of the American black bear. North America’s smallest bear species, the Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus), found both food and shelter in the state’s dense habitats of hardwood and palm forests, flatwoods, bogs, and scrub oak ridges.
Although not territorial, bears require space to survive. Florida’s largest terrestrial mammal will wander far and wide to maintain their heft and when searching for a suitable mate. They are highly adaptable to their surroundings and have few natural predators. Thousands of years ago, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Florida black bears boasted a population of more than 10,000, as well as a range encompassing the entire state.
Then people came along. As the beauty and potential of Florida was discovered, the state’s human population grew exponentially—from 5 million in 1960 to nearly 23 million at present. For their protection and for commodities provided by the animal, humans hunted and killed bears. As humans began developing and carving up the land for their pleasure and needs, bears began to lose precious habitat. With the increase of roads and cars, bears were often killed in vehicular crashes.
By the 1970s, the Florida black bear population reached a critical point. In 1974, FWC declared it a threatened species. Laws were passed making it illegal to hunt or feed a bear. In the early 1990s, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) began creating wildlife crossings (tunnels, culverts, fencing, and bridges) so animals could safely travel across the landscape. According to Brent Setchell, district drainage design engineer at FDOT, there are now about 250 dedicated wildlife crossings throughout the state; 24 are constructed along a 40-mile stretch of Interstate 75.
By 2012, bear numbers stabilized, and conservation agencies considered the species recovered. In a census count from 2017, FWC reported 4,050 bears living in the state. The next population assessment will not take place until 2027. Will it be lower or higher? Experts are unsure.
That said, we do know that “of 372 black bear deaths reported in 2023, 318 happened on the road,” says Jason Lauritsen, chief conservation officer at the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation. “What we don’t know is if this is because there are more bears on the road—or more cars,” he expounds. Lauritsen chooses to remain optimistic, however, hoping the numbers indicate an increase in the bear population.
As development encroaches upon wilderness, bears are increasingly pushed into neighborhoods in search of food and shelter. Although the ratio of bears to humans in Florida is small (1:5,679), incidences of bear sightings and encounters are on the rise. With less land to roam and as safe passageways between habitats narrow, the resilient omnivores have discovered it is easier to scavenge the nutrient-dense food of humans rather than forage the dwindling forest for twigs, nuts, and berries. The green garbage receptacles put out by the curb at dusk and dawn—when bears are most active—are easy sources of sustenance.
“If they had their way, bears wouldn’t want to hang with humans,” says Casey Darling Kniffin, conservation policy director at Florida Wildlife Federation, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to land conservation, wildlife protection, and water quality. “The biggest threat to their survival is loss of land,” reports Darling Kniffin. “They need room to thrive; males need 50 to 120 square miles for a home range, while females need between 11 and 25 square miles.” Their continued survival comes down to an issue of space. “They need protected land, but they also need biodiverse land to sustain a growing and healthy population,” she adds.
As the conservation policy director, Darling Kniffin’s role involves making sure policies defend and protect wildlife. She also works on supporting and strengthening relationships between the various organizations working for a wild future, making certain everyone’s voices are heard at the state level.
In Florida, there are myriad programs championing the cause of bears. FWC advanced the Florida Black Bear Management Plan to provide a framework for conserving Florida black bears. In 2012, the commission identified seven geographically distinct bear subpopulations in the state, making it possible for a community-focused effort to manage and conserve Florida black bears—one where scientists and citizens are invited to become involved. Today, one of the state’s largest and healthiest bear habitats is within South Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve. According to FWC, there are an estimated 1,040 bears currently roaming this ecosystem.
The Florida Forever program, started in 2001, is the state’s conservation and recreation lands acquisition program. Operating through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, it is one of the largest public land acquisition programs in the country, boasting approximately 10 million acres managed for conservation in Florida. However, bears don’t just need protected land. For genetic diversity, they need contiguous tracts of land so they can travel safely to food, shelter, and mates—helping ensure resistance to disease and extinction.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor Act was passed into law in 2021. It designates the Florida Wildlife Corridor as a physical, geographically defined area of nearly 18 million acres, including 10 million acres of protected conservation lands. (The state of Florida spans more than 38 million acres.) The law directs the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to encourage and promote investments in areas that protect and enhance the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
The nonprofit Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation champions a collaborative campaign to permanently connect, protect, and restore the Florida Wildlife Corridor. “The Florida black bear is a poster-child success story for the corridor,” says Lauritsen. He shares the story of the bear known as M34, who, a decade ago, tracked through GPS monitoring, traveled more than 500 miles in eight weeks within an area approximately 110 miles (running north to south). M34 illustrates that “the vision of a connected natural Florida is alive and well,” says Lauritsen. “The foundation’s goal is to ensure the opportunity is maintained.”
At present, FWC research records that bears occupy 49 percent of their historic range. Is this a sufficient threshold? Again, experts are not certain. “Hard science takes time,” explains Lauritsen. “As Florida is growing so fast, we are constantly updating the research.”
Lauritsen feels a personal responsibility to help the bears and believes others are generally concerned about conserving Florida’s flora and fauna. “People innately have an impulse to help wildlife,” says Lauritsen. “I don’t want to lose wildlife from my neighborhood. I believe I have an obligation to be a good steward and want to leave the earth as good or better than I found it,” he adds.
Ultimately, one thing seems clear. The solution is to preserve and restore habitats for bears and other wildlife. “There is no one organization that can take the credit,” says Lauritsen. “We are all working together to champion the cause.”
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