Authorities fear a pandamic.
Hi everyone, my name is Don W. Hardeman Jr. and I am a Master's student at the University of Florida.
The focus of my research at UF is on understanding the effects of the human-dominated landscape on the behavior of female Florida black bears.
I have worked around the country on projects involving wolves and beaver in Minnesota, Pacific fishers in the Sierra National Forest, disease ecology of raccoons in Indiana, movement ecology of Desert kit foxes in the Mojave desert of California, bats in the Eastern US, etc.
My research interests include movement ecology, spatial ecology, carnivore ecology and conservation, and human-wildlife conflict.
I am also a Black bear research biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
I enjoy live music, archery, hiking, reading, wildlife photography, cooking and baking, and good conversation.
I am doing this as part of an AMA series with the University of Florida/IFAS Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation.
You can see photos from my work here!
I will also be on the next episode of WEC podcast, Ecological Adventures!
Don's done now! If you want to learn more about black bears in Florida, check out the IFAS extension page on living alongside these interesting animals. --Rhett
Males here average 250-450 pounds, compared to 200-300 in most other states and the majority of canada, and they have been documented up to 760 pounds. I have no doubts that there are 800+ pound bears in florida, but because of a lack of a hunting season here they will never see the scales
Black bears are fairly unique in that they don't follow bergmann's rule, which basically states that when dealing with mammals the further north you go the larger animals get for a species and the farther south you go the smaller they get.
Thought I would post this because not many people seem to realise there are bears here in Florida, and, many that do, seem to think they're tiny, because of bergmann's rule.
I’m camping in Florida black bear country off Daytona beach and my tent is about 5 feet from my car which has cooked steak in it. I know this might sound dumb but am I 100% asking for a visit tonight?
