Bear caught on video in Oldsmar, Tampa: Could it be the same animal?
A black bear tried to get into an Oldsmar woman’s trash can Thursday night.
Saturday morning, while wildlife officers were attempting to find it, a bear lumbered through an apartment complex on Tampa Shores Boulevard — more than seven miles away.
“We believe it’s the same one,” said Forest Rothchild, spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Adult bears can travel up to 15 miles a day.
Saturday afternoon, the bear was sleeping 30 feet up in a tree in a residential neighborhood in Town ‘N’ Country. Dozens of people watched while a trapper stood by with a tranquillizer. Wildlife officials also brought a cage on a trailer which they baited with bear treats.
“Our goal is to not use drugs,” Rothchild said. “We’re hoping it will get hungry and come down by sunset.”
Once they capture the bear they will take it to Ocala National Forest, where it will be released.
“I was really shocked. I’ve been in Florida since 1988 and I’ve never seen a bear around here,” Yan Li told the Times on Saturday. Her Ring camera captured the animal at the bottom of her driveway in the Bay’s End neighborhood of Oldsmar. It was as big as the trash can. I was shaking.”
Last year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission fielded 7,298 calls about bear sightings. Biologists say the animals are most active in spring and early summer when they’re breeding.
“Something similar happened last year, about this same time, around the same place,” Rothschild said. In June 2021, officials closed Philippe Park in Safety Harbor after a bear was spotted there.
State officials estimate that the black bear population in Florida has increased from a few hundred in the 1970s to over 4,000 today.
Bears are shy and usually avoid people, biologists say. They have never killed anyone in Florida. But they have bitten and scratched people, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website.
It’s illegal to kill a bear. But you can shoot them with paintballs, sling shots and bear spray. “People in other states have successfully fended off black bear attacks using rocks, sticks or even their bare hands,” the website says.
If you see a bear, experts advise, don’t move toward it. If it’s close, remain standing, speak calmly and assertively to the bear and slowly back away. Avoid eye contact. If the bear appears irritated by your movement, stop and stay in one place. Don’t make any sudden movements, and don’t play dead, run, climb a tree, surprise, approach or try to feed the bear.
To report a bear sighting, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Southwest Regional Office at (863) 648-3200.
