Florida black bear

The FWC’s Bear Management Program gave Commissioners a 5-year update on implementing the 2019 Florida Black Bear Management Plan at the December 2024 Commission meeting, highlighting recent bear management and research efforts. Following the presentation, the Commissioners directed staff to return to a future Commission meeting to propose options for implementing a potential bear hunt. 

The primary objectives of regulated hunting are to balance species population numbers with suitable habitat and to maintain a healthy population, as stated in the 2019 Bear Management Plan. Hunting provides people with recreational and economic benefits. A hunter can use the meat, pelt, fat, and other parts of any bear they harvest.

If Commissioners decide to re-open regulated bear hunting, it would provide access to the resource and manage the population. Hunting would allow the FWC to start managing population growth rates for the Bear Management Units, or BMUs, with the largest bear subpopulations. Balancing species population growth with suitable habitat helps to maintain a healthy population, and hunting is an important and effective tool that is used to manage wildlife populations across the world. It is important to acknowledge that managing bear populations does not manage human-bear conflicts. Conflict prevention and management will still need to continue regardless of whether Commissioners choose to re-open regulated bear hunting.  

You can watch the recording of the March 13 virtual public meeting by accessing the Teams link. Please note that if you plan to watch this on a mobile device, you must have the Teams app installed.

You can also review a transcript of the comments from this meeting and the virtual flipchart.

You can watch the recordings of the April virtual public meetings by accessing the Vimeo links below. 

April 2: https://vimeo.com/1073539169

April 3: https://vimeo.com/1073697606

April 5: https://vimeo.com/1073684014

Yes, the public will have multiple opportunities to share their comments, concerns, and ideas on potential options for highly regulated black bear hunting in Florida before anything is presented at a Commission meeting. Additionally, the public will have the opportunity to provide comments after the proposals are presented during a future Commission meeting.

The FWC hosted a virtual public meeting on March 13 to gather thoughts from the public about potential options for highly regulated bear hunting in Florida.

The FWC is also holding a series of virtual public meetings in April to collect feedback directly from Florida residents on proposals for highly regulated black bear hunting in Florida that will be presented to Commissioners at our May meeting. These proposals are based on comments from the March 13 public meeting as well as meetings with stakeholder groups. The content covered in all meetings is identical, and it is not necessary to attend more than one virtual public meeting.

The meeting dates and times are as follows:

• April 2 from 12 – 3 p.m. EDT: Virtual meeting via Zoom
  • To join the meeting by telephone, dial-in (if needed): +1 305 224 1968 (United States) and enter Conference ID: 96561628155#
• April 3 from 5 – 8 p.m. EDT: Virtual meeting via Zoom
  • To join the meeting by telephone, dial-in (if needed): +1 305 224 1968 (United States) and enter Conference ID: 94803064202#
• April 5 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. EDT: Virtual meeting via Zoom
  • To join the meeting by telephone, dial-in (if needed): +1 305 224 1968 (United States) and enter Conference ID: 91550331906#

The public can also share their comments on hunt proposals by going to https://bit.ly/Bear-Hunt-Comments.

Visit the GovDelivery subscription page and choose “News - Hunting" to receive information about the potential re-opening of highly regulated black bear hunting in Florida.

FWC staff reviewed previous regulated bear hunting in Florida as well as regulated bear hunts in other states, and reached out to the public for their comments, concerns and ideas on this topic. Staff then developed multiple proposals and are bringing them to the public for their feedback in April. Staff will then make appropriate changes, and present proposals to Commissioners at their May 21-22, 2025 meeting. 

The FWC will review previous bear hunting regulations in Florida as well as hunts in other states and public comments. Staff will then develop multiple options and bring those to the public for their feedback, make appropriate changes, and present that information to Commissioners at future Commission meetings.

Following the most recent statewide population estimate in 2015, multiple bear subpopulations were determined to be large and healthy enough to sustain a hunt. The FWC estimates the four largest subpopulations have grown annually since that time, and no subpopulations have shown evidence of decline.

Yes, Florida is fortunate to have abundant conservation lands throughout the state. We have looked at the results of computer models that predict where the most likely areas will be developed and compared that with where quality bear habitat is located to determine the impacts on the bear populations. Our analysis indicates that we have enough bear habitat to support our minimum and current bear population levels. However, suitable habitat could be limited at some point in the future if we maintain the current annual growth rates we have estimated for our four largest subpopulations.  

The best scientifically valid population estimates are from 2015 and indicate there are approximately 4,050 bears statewide. The mean estimates for each Bear Management Unit include: 120 in the West Panhandle, 1,060 in the East Panhandle, 496 in the North, 30 in the Big Bend, 1,198 in the Central, 98 in the South Central, and 1,044 in the South. 

The FWC estimates the abundance (number) of bears in each subpopulation by building hair corrals that collect tufts of hair when bears come to investigate scent lure and bait. Samples of bear hair contain genetic material that is analyzed to identify individual bears. Statistical analyses of the location and timing of when samples were collected reveal the abundance and density of bears in each study area. A video that describes this process is also available.

To estimate population growth rates, the FWC studies adult female survival, reproduction (litter size and interval), and cub survival. Studies on these demographic variables have been conducted on the East Panhandle, North, Central, and South Bear Management Units (BMUs), and all four have annual growth rates ranging from 2.2% in the Central BMU to 15.4% in the North BMU. For more details, visit the black bear research page and select the ‘Demographics’ tab.

The FWC must allow for at least one generation length (10 years for Florida black bears) between population abundance estimates to accurately track changes over time. Conducting abundance surveys too frequently for the same population would likely provide a similar estimate, possibly counting some of the same individuals from the prior survey and thus reduce our ability to detect a true change in the population.

FWC staff can use the most recent population estimates to base a regulated bear hunting harvest objective, which would be conservative given that the four large subpopulations all show increasing annual growth rates. 

The FWC’s Bear Management and Research Programs have collected and analyzed data and determined that four of the seven Bear Management Units could be hunted in a sustainable manner without decreasing the bear population (see pages 30-40 in the Bear Management Plan). However, whether bear hunting is allowed is at the discretion of the FWC’s Commissioners. 

Species that are at a high risk of extinction are placed on the FWC’s list of State-designated Threatened Species. Florida black bears were on that list from 1974 to 2012. In 2011, a Biological Status Review determined that bears were no longer at high risk for extinction using the criteria in the FWC listing rule (Florida Administrative Code 68A-27.0012) which includes population size and trend, range size and trend, population concentration, reproductive potential for recovery, and ecological specialization. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Natural Areas Inventory have reviewed all information available on Florida black bears and are in agreement with the FWC that there is no need to change their current status as a game species that is commonly found throughout over half of Florida. 

The FWC conducted a survey of Floridians one year after the 2015 bear hunt, and found residents were fairly evenly divided, with 48% in support of bear hunting and 43% opposed. However, when people were asked if they believed the FWC was carefully monitoring the bear population and that hunting was compatible with maintaining healthy bear numbers, their support for bear hunting increased to 62% in support and 28% opposed.  

Regulated black bear hunting was allowed in Florida from the 1950s until 1994 (see page 22 to 26 in the Bear Management Plan). Bear hunting was then closed until 2015, when it was reopened in the Fall. No bear hunting has been allowed since 2015. 

For more information, please visit our 2015 Florida Black Bear Hunt FAQs page.

The FWC re-opened the regulated bear hunting season in an effort to start to slow the population growth rates in four Bear Management Units (BMUs) with the largest number of bears: East Panhandle, North, Central, and South. 

The FWC re-opened the regulated bear hunting season the East Panhandle, North, Central, and South Bear Management Units (BMUs). The hunt was scheduled for seven days in October 2015, but the FWC had the option to close the season early based on whether the harvest objective was close or exceeded. The FWC closed the East Panhandle and Central BMUs after the first day of the hunt and closed the North and South BMUs on the second day because harvest numbers were nearing the statewide harvest objective. A total of 304 bears were harvested. Additional details of the 2015 bear hunt are available in the summary report. 

FWC had mechanisms in place for daily monitoring of the harvest and season closure, so when the harvest approached the statewide objective of 320, FWC was prepared and stopped the hunt. 
The East Panhandle and the Central Bear Management Units (BMUs) were closed for the rest of the season beginning Sunday, Oct. 25 while the North and South BMUs were closed to hunting beginning Monday, Oct. 26. 

While the number of bears harvested during the first two days was higher than expected in the East Panhandle and Central Bear Management Units (BMUs), success rates were comparable to other states with similar hunt structures (e.g., 10.7% of hunters who attempted to harvest a bear were successful in the East Panhandle BMU). There are many factors that can influence how quickly harvest objectives are achieved, such as weather conditions, time of year, and availability of natural food sources. One factor unique in this situation was that the bear population had not been hunted in over a decade. One of the reasons why the harvest occurred more quickly than expected in the East Panhandle BMU is because the population at the time of the hunt was significantly higher than the 2002 population estimate of 600 bears in this BMU. 

Of the 40 states with resident black bear populations, 34 (85%) have regulated bear hunting seasons. Of the 6 states that do not hunt their resident bear population, Florida has the most bears (estimated at over 4,000), followed by Connecticut at 1,200 bears. The remaining four states estimate their populations at 250 bears or less. More information on how other states, provinces, and territories manage their black bears is available from the International Association for Bear Research and Management. Select ‘Results of the 2022 Survey of American Black Bear Management in the United States and Canada’ 

Regulated hunting is a method to manage bear populations, not human-bear conflicts. All states that have regulated black bear hunting seasons also have human-bear conflicts. Human-bear conflicts will occur as long as attractants are easily accessible. Multiple studies have been conducted to try and determine if there is a link between regulated black bear hunting seasons and human-bear conflicts. Some studies found a link between hunting and conflicts while others did not. 

Understanding a mammal’s diet is key to understanding whether its meat would be good to eat. Black bears are omnivores with plant material making up over 70% of their diet, similar to wild hogs. The texture of bear meat is similar to pork and like pork should be cooked thoroughly. There are multiple online sources of advice on how to prepare bear meat.  

The Bear Management Plan has minimum population objectives for each of the 7 bear subpopulations, but did not set a maximum number. Black bear populations at high numbers or densities do not negatively impact their habitat like can occur with white-tailed deer. Instead, as black bear numbers reach high enough levels, they begin to spread out from suitable habitats to more marginal habitats, where they are more impacted by humans, primarily through increased vehicle-bear mortality and human-bear conflicts.  

While all wildlife species, theoretically, will reach some population level that triggers a decline, black bear populations have not reached levels where self-regulation has been exhibited anywhere in North America. Rather, as bear numbers reach high enough levels, human presence can begin to influence bear population numbers. For example, Ocala is the largest bear subpopulation in Florida but also has the lowest annual growth rate (2.2%). While we have observed some natural population regulation mechanisms in Ocala (e.g., adult bears killing and eating cubs), the overriding population regulation is human caused, with an average of 191 bears killed each year by people (e.g., vehicle strikes, conflict removals, suspected illegal kills). Once there are enough bears in suitable habitats, bear presence will increase in marginal habitats (e.g., neighborhoods), which increases the likelihood of human-bear conflicts and the subsequent risk to public safety as well as safety for the bears. 

The FWC wants to slow population growth in the four largest bear subpopulations to keep population numbers in balance with suitable habitat and to maintain healthy animals. There is a finite amount of suitable bear habitat, so if bear populations continue to grow unchecked, at some point bears will have to start living in more marginal habitats, like neighborhoods. 

The FWC explored multiple options to manage bear populations in the Bear Management Plan (Pages 32 to 37). State, National and International organizations recognize that increasing human-caused mortality is the only option to slow bear population growth. Of the human-caused mortality options, regulated hunting is the most effective, practical and widely used method to manage bear populations numbers. Of the 40 states with resident black bear populations, 85% use regulated black bear hunting to manage their bear populations. 

Regulated bear hunting adds a positive value on bears by providing people with additional economic and recreational opportunities. Hunters can use the meat, pelt, fat and other parts of the bear they harvest. In contrast to all other current management action options, regulated hunting generates funding for conservation.  

The FWC’s Bear Management and Research Programs have collected and analyzed data and determined that four of the seven Bear Management Units could be hunted in a sustainable manner without decreasing the bear population. The FWC has set the number of permits available to equal the maximum number of female bears that could be removed without reducing the population in each Bear Management Unit. This is a more conservative approach because it is highly unlikely that the bears harvested each year would all be female and that hunters would have a 100% success rate.  

Prior to the 1970’s, wildlife agencies in the U.S. and Canada did move black bears from areas with high density populations to lower density populations. Since that time, however, concerns have been raised about introducing black bears from one region to another as this could introduce parasites, diseases, disrupt behaviors, social structure or other unintended consequences of those actions. Therefore, bears are no longer typically moved from one jurisdiction to another. However, some states have moved bears from higher to lower density areas within their own jurisdictions. The Bear Management Plan discusses this and other options in detail in the population management section (pages 30-40). 

Studies indicate black bear cubs that have been orphaned at 5 months or older can survive at similar rates as cubs that were not orphaned. Florida along with many other states have guidelines for when cubs can be self-sufficient. The FWC considers a cub to be self-sufficient if it is encountered as an orphan after August 1st and/or if the cub weighs over 30 lbs. Fall hunting seasons are typically scheduled to occur between August and January, so given the average birthdate for cubs is February 1st,  a cub would be able to survive on its own if it was orphaned during the hunting season.