Yesterday, a 310 lb. Black Bear was caught in Weston and released in the Picayune Strand State Forest. Weston is not a little town in the woods. It is a busy, crowded city and the FWC tranqed the bear at a busy intersection! He was then transported out to the Picayune, which will be the perfect place for him (or her?). The bear never hurt anyone, but he was close to schools, homes and even a golf course, so for the safety of the residents, as well as the safety of the bear, he was relocated.
Stories like this disturb me. I mean, everything went well..no harm was done and there's a happy ending, but it reinforces the well-known fact that we are constantly encroaching on the habitat of our precious wildlife. A few years ago, a panther was found dead just a few miles EAST of the Miccosukee Gaming Resort! That's east as in toward Miami, NOT west toward the Everglades!
When I was little, we had alot of creatures that would come through our yard. Nothing special, and a little annoying...possums, raccoons, rats, mice, lots of snakes, etc. We even had foxes in our neighborhood. Now we see the occassional possum (sorry, but yuck!)..no raccoons, no rodents (not a major loss) and in 1992, I saw the last fox in our area lying dead at the intersection of our neighborhood and a major road. So sad. I get giddy with excitement when one of us finds a snake in the yard....a rare find.
People talk about how much they HATE Miami. I have said the same thing myself more than once, but the truth is I LOVE Miami. I HATE the overpopulation and cookie cutter housing that has sprung up...right to the boundaries of the ENP. Sad and disgusting and it really pisses me off. Why can't there be a total building moratorium? There are enough houses for sale that they certainly do not need to build any new ones. Strip malls? Ugh, we have more than enough!
Miami is a really cool place. The Atlantic Ocean is only minutes away from wherever you are, as are the Everglades. An hour south are the Keys. There are beautiful, old areas in Miami that are rich with local history. There is something for everyone here...you just have to look. I love this place, I just wish half the population would disappear. Any half. Just go somewhere else so the building can stop, the traffic can become tolerable, and wandering bears aren't such a big deal.
7 comments:
Officials had to kill a black bear hanging out at Whataburger last year. He'd already been relocated twice - three times and you're out, I guess. It makes me sad because the city just keeps spreading out when it doesn't need to. We can build UP. We can fill in. But the wildlife around here has nowhere else to go but our own backyards when we keep sprawling OUT. Tallahassee is a beautiful city, but if we're gonna keep growing, we need to make provisions.
Last week there was a huge article in the paper about how to coexist with foxes. At least it's a step in the right direction.
Hear hear!
The one good thing about the recession is the pace of destruction has slowed a bit.
What FC said! And what you said! Why on earth do we need to keep building more? When will enough be enough already? ... Oh, don't even get me started!
Yeah, I love living in Miami and being able to get away from it all in an hour's drive. Funny thing - spent the last week at my father's place in Cross Creek, where critters are everywhere. We heard a sizable critter one night and I stepped out to see what it was. Armadillo - ho hum for me, but my "city boy" husband was sooooo disappointed he missed it!
Dang girl - you have gators AND bears?! Amazing!
Is this not the same bear that was roaming Weston two months ago? I thought they had already caught it.
I kept looking for it on my drive home.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if all building in Florida just stopped? No more. Use up all of the empty buildings instead! It's so sad that nature is being paved right over.
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