Alachua County residents and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission disagree about what is to blame for recent bear sightings around the Barr Hammock Preserve.
Conservationists and residents living near the preserve blame the sightings on a surge of visitors coming to the area. But the FWC said it’s the residents who are likely attracting bears into their neighborhoods.
Barr Hammock Preserve — located just north of the Alachua County and Marion County line, near Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park — is home to many different kinds of wildlife, including Florida black bears. But recently, residents living nearby the preserve said they have seen bears and signs of bears in their neighborhood.
Sandy Douglas, 60, who lives near Barr Hammock, said a bear destroyed her bird feeder and knocked over garbage cans throughout her neighborhood.
“If you live in this area, that’s something you have to live with,” Douglas said.
Her feeder was mounted on a pole, but she said the pole was completely bent over and the feeder was smashed in half. She said she hasn’t put the feeder back up, but when she does, she won’t leave it out at night anymore.
Denisse Abreau, a 35-year-old who also lives near Barr Hammock Preserve, said she believes the recreational part of the preserve needs to be shut down.
After sundown about a month ago, she came home to a bear rummaging through her garbage in her driveway. After hiding in her home until it left, she came outside and found her recycling bins scattered around her yard.
Her neighbor, Marc Meisel said when Barr Hammock Preserve’s sole focus was conservation, there were no bear issues at all. But since the preserve placed added emphasis on recreation, the constant human contact with bears has caused them to start entering neighborhoods.
Christin Burford, the director of the Creating Animal Respect Education Foundation, said that is exactly what is happening.
She said residents have expressed concerns to the county, but no action has yet been taken to resolve the issue.
“At least take the neighbors seriously,” she said.
However, Karen Parker, a spokeswoman for the FWC, said biologists believe human traffic would not drive the bears into neighborhoods.
Instead, she said the bears were likely attracted to bird feeders and garbage left by residents.
“If you have ‘attractives’ in your yard, guess what? Bears will come,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 12 on 7/1/2014 under the headline "Alachua locals dispute reasons behind recent bear sightings"]
