Four Bears Spotted on Satinwood Drive

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_panther]Florida panther - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] Also, considered a cougar.

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobcat]Bobcat - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] - will eat small dogs and domestic cats! :shock:

The Bobcat could be easily mistaken for a Florida Panther. I think that's what different people are seeing, not Panthers. I could be wrong. Just keep hearing it, and doubt that there's THAT many around, if any at all. Just my two cents. I haven't even seen a bear yet! And that's in over 25 years... :doh:

Their pretty distinct, unless you catch it out of the corner of your eye as it runs back into the woods. That's probably the case with most of these sightings. Bobcats tend to be a little more vocal than panthers. Panthers are also known as cougars so this could be a discussion about the infestation at the Tarpon Club and somehow we all thought nature. :idontno:

Well, they have a good reason - they are hungry and you are tasty.

Polar bears are one of the few bears that will actually kill you and eat you - most bears will just maul you, but polar bear attacks are usually fatal.

I agree, alligators should go on that list.

black bears eat mostly a vegetarian diet. Polar bears eat mostly meat.

Are you serious Franny? That is scary if true...

Yes Douglas. A guy that worked for my husband was in his deer stand and saw the panther walking through the forest. Honestly, I would be more afraid of being shot by hunters than injured by panthers and bears, but completely understand your concern for your daughter.

FWC says send the kids outside to play, that'll run off bears.

Bear sightings near Deer Point Elementary

FWC says send the kids outside to play, that'll run off bears.

Bear sightings near Deer Point Elementary

I saw that on the news last night! The more noise the kids make will scare the bears away. But the playgroud has a very secure fence!

I saw that on the news last night! The more noise the kids make will scare the bears away. But the playgroud has a very secure fence!

Yeah, I could just see the parents flipping out over that advice.

Where I work backs up to The Hundred Acre Wood aka Eglin Reservation. We've had bear-dumpster issues many a time, giant insane wild boars that had to be trapped and removed, I've seen foxes and deer in the parking lot within about 30 feet of large buildings, coworker has ended up fishing hypothermic armadillos out of water features and rescuing possums who got themselves stuck in trash cans, and we got talking to the mail guy today about how he'd seen a bobcat on campus while making his rounds a few days earlier. And I'm trying to repress the story from one of the basketball coaches about how during one of the big construction projects they'd regularly get snakes seeking out territory to relocate to in the locker rooms.

Despite it all the biggest current human-critter interaction concern from above these days seems to be how we're not supposed to feed the squirrels.

Apparently someone thinks they're more of a hazard than the dumpster-diving bears. Who knew?

This just in!

A picture of the bears...
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It's hard to believe that a panther (which is really a cougar, of course) could get all the way up to the panhandle from the small population of about 70 in the Everglades. Plus, if there's one here, there has to be more and no carcass has ever been found, unlike in S. Florida. A quick google pulled up an interesting story about a large cat that is smaller than a cougar, but still pretty big at about 50 lbs. called a jaguarundi. It's known to inhabit the Southwestern US and there are reports that it may have reached as far as our neck of the woods. I sure hope there are no panthers around here, whether they're well-fed or not. Here's the story that discusses both panthers and jaguarundi in our area. Are people really seeing Florida panthers? : The Corsair

From today's Daily Fishwrapper:

'Just follow the trail of trash' | bears, florida, wildlife - News - Northwest Florida Daily News

.I too, have seen a Florida Panther, a couple of years ago at 7:00 a.m. on Thompson Rd. going through state lands. A panther (cougar) is unmistakeable compared to a jaguarundi or a bobcat. When I reported it to the state authorities, they did not registar it as a sighting. A verified sighting could mean the creation of a 'panther protection zone' in Florida.

It was amazing!
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