Officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are cautioning residents in the Tampa Bay area to be aware after a young black bear was spotted heading west Tuesday evening in Brandon.
According to WFTS, who first reported this story, the bear has been popping up on neighborhood security cameras, climbing over fences and sniffing garbage cans. You know, bear stuff. Photos of the beartivities were posted to the neighborhood group Brandon Word of Mouth.
The big beefy boy was last spotted a few miles away near Charles Place at around 10 p.m.
The FWC believes the bear is the same one that was spotted 30 miles away in Lakeland last week. According to the agency, young bears, called “midway bears,” often travel long distances to re-home or settle down.
Officials will continue to track the bear until it finds a permanent home.
However, in all likelihood the bear will probably continue moving west until it reaches Seminole Heights, where it can overpay for a bungalow that was given a fresh coat of paint and packed with cheap Ikea fixtures.
The FWC says black bears are found in all 67 counties and there are currently 4,050 bears in Florida. Last year the agency responded to 5,482 bear-related incidents.
If you see the traveling bear, please leave it alone, and contact the FWC's Southwest Regional Office at 863-648-3200.
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This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 4, 2019.