This weekend we were in Pensacola Florida for a swim meet. On Saturday we drove over to Navarre Beach for some relaxation. On the way back I saw something big and black cross SR 87 about a mile north of the beach. At first I thought it was a huge black dog but as we got closer, we saw it it was a black bear that looked to be around 200 pounds. (I have no experience estimating the weight of a bear). Now I knew there were bears along the coastline but I never expected to see one, especially in mid summer on a 98 degree day. Pretty cool though. Sorry I didn't get any pictures... sure wish I had because I know I am going to catch it for not doing so.
We was down there a few weeks ago. Never seen a bear but there were "bear signs" everywhere. Pretty country.
I live in black bear country, and i never see bear other than trail cam pics. The first one i saw on the hoof ran across my tee box, in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. It was pretty shocking.
A 200 pound bear in Florida is bigger than the average I imagine. This is the first year I went to Canada fishing and didn't see a bear or moose.
Other than the Smokeys, that is a first for me. I used to hunt the Francis Marion NF north of Charleston and I knew there were bears but I never saw one or saw any sign (as if I would recognize it) of bears. I did a little google search and discovered a bear was killed by a car near the same spot in Navarre last August. It would have been so cool to have gotten photos!
Yes there are plenty of big bears in the Florida area. Once dogs chased a Black Bear up a tree in the Springfield Area of Jacksonville. Kids were throwing sticks and rocks at the animal before police finally responding to the call. Never hearing or seeing a bear in the area they treated as a prank call. Many Florida of Jacksonville police officers were in shock to see the bear. Fortunately for the bear one of the officers was a hunter whom saved the bear from being shot, contacted the zoo. Zoo officials had it tranquilized and relocated. Another bear incident led to the discovery of young missing women murdered by Paul Durousseau, the notorious Jacksonville Florida serial killer. The bear unearth and began feeding on the bodies on a dead end road. A road crew had seen the bear from time to time in the same location investigated the area and found the the partially eaten bodies, which led to killer eventual capture. The police was not investigating the missing women as murder victims only as a missing persons report. The bear eluded capture with no further reports of seeing it. Durousseau was charged with five counts of murder on June 17, 2003. On December 13, 2007 he was sentenced to die by lethal injection for the murder of Tyresa Mack. As of March 1, 2010, he was still a resident on Florida's death row at Union Correctional Institution. No execution date has been set.
Okay, I did put a disclaimer on the weight estimate. At first I thought large black Pyrenees dog, and then I thought it was an odd place to see such a dog running loose. I know they have lots of hair and that can fool the untrained eye (mine) but it definitely seemed comparable to the size of the bears we often see in Cades Cove.
I have seen a couple while driving Route 10 through the Osceola National Forest. I have also seen plenty of deer driving that stretch of road as well.
I wasn't saying you were wrong... just saying nice bear for Florida from what I've heard. There are some whopper bears in the Carolinas. I think NORTH but don't remember for sure. The record bear in NC was 880 pounds
No problem, not taken that way, but thanks.... When we were in Charleston, DWF chased a 500 pounder through Goose Creek and Hanahan before finally tranquilizing it. I don't know why they didn't just leave it alone but it was quite the story for a couple days. ca 1990ish. A friend shot one with his bow near Cordesville... supposedly in self defense (not buying that story, but he got off) that was somewhere around 400. I guess there is plenty to eat in coastal areas.
