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Another bear captured in Gulf Breeze

Steve Clark/Special to Gulf Breeze News A black bear estimated to weigh as much as 250 pounds watches as FWC biologists prepare to fire a tranquilizing dart June 26. For the second time in less than two weeks, a black bear was captured by authorities on the north side of Gulf Breeze Proper.

A bear estimated to be 2 to 3 years old and weighing between 225 and 250 pounds was discovered in the Baybridge Office and Residential Park near Taco Bell at approximately 6 a.m. on Friday, June 26. Authorities from the Gulf Breeze Police Department, Gulf Breeze Fire & Rescue and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) responded to the emergency, which drew several onlookers and was featured on local television news reports.

The bear, who sought refuge in a nearby tree, was safely tranquilized and transported to the Eglin Reservation far away from Gulf Breeze.

Although the sighting and capture were entertaining events, the public shouldn't be overly alarmed at the bear's presence. It's just nature doing its thing.

"We get bear sightings this time of year," Gulf Breeze Fire Chief Craig Carmichael said. "They come out of Eglin (Reservation). They get either pushed out by their momma as they grow older, or they get pushed out by the males because they are looking for a mate and establishing their own territory. The adult male bears up there already have established themselves.

"These bears have to move on out to find a new range. Bears have been tracked from Eglin to as far away as Louisiana. We get them every year; there is hardly a year that goes by that we don't get a bear sighting."

Two sightings in a short time very near each other understandably have some residents on edge. But again, Carmichael said, it's not totally uncommon.

"It doesn't alarm me," he said. "They are just pushing through. They want to be left alone just like we like to be left alone. I don't think any of them have ever been aggressive in nature. I don't think the FWC has a documented bear attack in the state."

Bears are avid swimmers, and it's somewhat common for them to swim from the mainland across Pensacola Bay or East Bay to the Fairpoint Peninsula. A few have been known to go even further.

"Four or five years ago, there was a bear discovered two miles off Pensacola Beach out there swimming in the Gulf," Carmichael said. "They swim through the bays and all sorts of stuff.

"They aren't going to hurt you. If you come out, they will pretty much move on."

The June 26 bear visit was the second in Gulf Breeze Proper within 11 days. On June 15, a bear was observed in the Plantation Hill and St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church areas and eventually captured and relocated.

On June 11, a homeowner in the Paradise Bay neighborhood in the Tiger Point area reported a bear wandering on his property. Images of the critter were caught on a surveillance camera and published in Gulf Breeze News.

In the most recent case, FWC officials shot the bear with a tranquilizing dart. After several minutes, the woozy bear lost his grip on the tree and tumbled to the ground. The bear's ears were tagged, and its lip was tattooed for future reference. Officials will be able to track the bear.

Reports of wildlife wandering into populated and developed areas have escalated during the past month. Several residents east of Gulf Breeze Proper complained recently about coyotes that were attacking pet cats in search of meals.