In response to the social media posts by the Walton County Sheriff’s Workplace, the black bear shortly attracted a crowd of onlookers who had been making an attempt to take selfies with it.
“Onlookers had been making an attempt to take selfies with the bear and he’s clearly not within the temper for footage. The bear has proven indicators of extreme stress,” the put up mentioned.
Calling it ‘well-known final phrases’, the sheriff’s workplace cautioned towards following the motto of “If not pal, why pal formed?”
The put up additional described the bear as “harassed depressed lemon zest” and warned the general public towards approaching black bears, particularly these displaying indicators of aggression.
Rangers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee (FWC) had been dispatched to analyze following a name from the sheriff’s workplace reporting crowds of individuals stopping to {photograph} the bear. The bear was noticed sitting beside a telegraph pole.
By the point officers and biologists arrived, “the bear had dispersed and walked off into the adjoining woods,” mentioned an FWC spokesperson, in an announcement quoted by the Guardian.
The spokesperson added that, based mostly on photographs shared with employees, “The bear didn’t look like injured. It could have simply been overheated and was resting earlier than transferring on.”
Black bears are a typical sight in lots of components of Florida, particularly throughout spring and summer season when juveniles go away their moms’ dwelling ranges to search out new habitats. The spokesperson indicated that, usually, bears will transfer on their very own with out interference.
“Sometimes, bears will transfer alongside on their very own. When you see a bear, give it area, don’t attempt to strategy it, and by no means feed it,” the spokesperson suggested.
He additionally pointed the general public to the recommendation web site bearwise.org and suggested to “at all times give bears as a lot area as attainable”. “Crowding round any bear isn’t really useful, as bears can change into defensive when threatened,” he mentioned.
Many sympathised with the bear in replies to the social media put up. “If I had been a bear, I’d be harassed with visitors like this,” one X consumer commented. One other warned towards the hazard and mentioned, “Go away the bear alone of us! Or change into a Darwin Award Winner!”
In response to the FWC, there are an estimated 4,050 black bears residing within the wild in Florida.
