Little Orphan Ursus

Hello, my name is Ursus, and I am a young Black Bear living in Florida’s Ocala National Forest. I recently left my mother after almost two years of training, and I’m on a big adventure! I have been wandering and foraging my way through the woods, and there is just so much delicious food to eat! There’s a multitude of plants and fruits from Palmetto berries, pond apples, sawgrass, cabbage palm, and sassafrass to wild coffee, grapes, and raspberries. There’s also a plethora of insects(Although I prefer berries!) such as ants, bees, wasps, grasshoppers, and centipedes. (That old myth about bears and honey stemmed from the fact that we love bee grubs, and that is what we are after if you see us near a hive.) I also see a lot of small animals, like turtles, snakes, opossum, and crayfish which I would only eat if I couldn’t find enough of my favorites. Needless to say, the Florida scrub is abundant with bear food(what is called “species-appropriate” food), and I have no desire for yours. The only reason a bear would ever start craving human edibles is if a human starts feeding us. When you leave out all kinds of goodies(Things like cat food, dog food, bird seed, the compost pile, pizza, bbq, etc.) in nice little bowls and bins for us, we can’t resist! What we don’t understand is why you would be so kind as to leave food for us, then get angry when we keep coming back for more? Obviously, different species just don’t get each other. Sometimes, these misunderstandings can lead to tragedy.

So how, you may wonder, did I become an “orphan”? Well, the confusion between what we should and should not be eating is what started the big problems between humans and bears in the first place. Word in the woods has it that a whole bunch of grown-up humans came out and took away a whole bunch of grown-up bears because they were becoming a “nuisance”. Some of those were Mother Bears, maybe even mine. I was ready to go out on my own, so I am not sure if she was “taken” or just went her own way, but you humans would refer to us baby bears without mothers as “orphans”. The truth is that while human children rely on their parents for many years(As many as 18 or 19, from what I hear!), bear children are ready to take off on their own by 2 years of age. We are a different species, and are raised to be independent and self-sufficient very early on. While a human baby of 2 years old would be considered “orphaned” if found alone, the same is not true for bear cubs. Why am I telling you this? So you don’t have to worry about me!

Another unfortunate consequence of mistaking a self-sufficient bear cub with a dependent orphan is that too many cubs are “rescued” from the woods and raised in captivity. Don’t get me wrong, it is wonderful for a warm-hearted human to take an infant bear cub to safety, and to ensure its survival with care and feeding. But us older ones should definitely be left in the wild, in our natural habitats, our homes. Those few tiny cubs who may not have survived without a little help, could easily be returned to the wild after a year or so. Too many are unnecessarily relegated to life in prison(zoos, sanctuaries, exotic animal collectors, etc.) when they should be released. If you ever see any other young bears, big and healthy enough to run from you, who are seemingly alone in the woods, please just leave them be. If the baby cub seems like an infant, and is noticeably malnourished or actually crying out for help then yes, by all means call the wildlife rescue humans! Just understand that it is very rare for such a tiny cub to be left alone on purpose, so the mother may be nearby foraging for food. If not, it may be the sad story of indiscriminate hunting or another traffic accident. I wish that these things never happened, but they do. For me, almost 2 years old now, I don’t know where my mother is and it really doesn’t matter. I am well-adapted to my environment and perfectly capable of finding food, shelter, and water on my own. We bears are solitary by nature, so we don’t get “lonely” like humans do, either.

I’ll bet you are wondering where I sleep at night, eh? Well, I happen to know that humans often sleep in “hammocks”, so you may not be so surprised that we bears also sleep in the “hammocks”! You use the word to describe something you made from rope or cloth and hang from trees or stands, while we build our sleeping nests from leaves, branches, twigs, and mosses found in our habitat which is often called the tropical hammock or hardwood(oak) hammock. Either way, the word describes a comfortable resting place for humans or bears in Florida. I have heard tales of an occasional grown-up bear taking a nap in some human’s hammock, however. I mean, if we see a comfy bed hanging in our trees, why not? If you are a camper or nature hiker, you probably won’t see many(if any) Florida Black Bears because we are so reclusive. We are just content to roam around, doing bear things in our natural environment, and have no desire to harm or even bother humans. The interactions only happen when humans build their homes right on the edge of our habitats. We are bears, so we don’t understand the invisible borders you humans establish. We also don’t get the whole concept of “land ownership”, which humans invented, and which creates a belief that people can just claim a chunk of our territory and then treat us like trespassers. It’s a baffling concept! So please, dear humans, try to walk a mile in our paws, and imagine how we feel about being bears in a human world. It’s very confusing, to say the least.

It is important for you to understand and teach your fellow humans as much as you can about us bears and other animals who share natural habitats and wild territory, in order to prevent any more tragedies like unnecessary shootings, euthanizations, or car collisions. So many injuries and deaths could be avoided with a little bit of cooperation. If humans could secure their garbage bins and stop leaving food out for us wild animals, we would just stay in the hammocks and eat our natural diet of plants, nuts, and berries. If humans could be more careful on the roads, keeping eyes out for us wildlife trying to cross, far fewer would get hit by cars and trucks. And if a bear wanders into your garage, it’s only because he or she sniffed something tasty, not to hurt you. If you catch one of us napping in your hammock or even taking a dip in your pool, please take a few pictures and then send us on our way. No need to go crazy or freak out! After all, how threatening can a sleeping or swimming bear be? Like I said, we don’t know what’s yours and not ours, we just think it’s all one big place to share. So relax, take a few breaths, and enjoy the show, and we’ll probably wander off on our own soon. If not, and you need us to leave the area quickly, there are plenty of ways to just chase an uninvited guest away. It’s not necessary to quickly grab your gun and prepare to shoot! I’m sure that you humans have to deal with uninvited human guests all the time. Do you immediately resort to violence when Auntie Karen just won’t leave? Maybe, but I doubt it. You probably come up with all kinds of non-lethal ways to deter her from coming over in the first place, or to shuffle her out the door early when she shows up for dinner anyway. I have heard of a horrible, peppery spray that will scare off a bear in a flash, and it would probably work on that annoying Auntie, too. Believe it or not, we are even more afraid of you than you are of us! If you could just yell and flail your arms about, or start banging on something loud most of us would head for the hills and never return. Barking dogs are pretty frightening, too, even those machines that make bark noises! Contrary to another popular misconception, bears do not eat dogs, we are terrified of them! Overall, just try to make your yard and house as unappealing to bears as possible. Motion-triggered lights and sprinklers are good ones for deterring most critters, tightly sealed trash bins are vital, and a higher fence would be a good idea, too. Most of the reported bear intrusions happen in unfenced yards and open garages. With pungent trash bins, food-crusted barbecue grills, and who-knows-what other tantalizing vittles may be lurking, that’s like putting up a neon sign that says, “Welcome to the party, Bears!”. Anyway, it is my wish that we Bears and you Humans can co-exist in our respective, sometimes shared environments. For now, know that most bear cubs are happy and healthy, thriving in their natural habitat, and we hope that the human babies are all safe and sound, too. Namaste.