The bones of a whole bunch of lifeless bears litter a path within the Seminole State Forest close to Seminole Springs, Florida. The animals didn’t die there. People introduced their carcasses there on objective, in accordance with Oviedo Group Information. And this isn’t the one “bear graveyard” within the state, both. However why?
Eric Orvieto, a journalist for Oviedo Group Information, experiences on the Florida Wildlife Hall and the way it impacts native communities. For the primary article of a three-part collection on this matter, Orvieto visits the bear graveyard in Seminole State Forest, reporting that the bones are deliberately dumped there by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee (FWC).
“Scattered all through the open area and into the bushes lay numerous bear bones: massive leg bones, pelvic bones, vertebrae, cranium bones and extra. A whole bunch of them,” Orvieto writes. “There are even, at instances, whole bear carcasses.”
A whole bunch of bears die annually in Florida, and Orvieto experiences that the majority of these bears find yourself at websites like this. The concept is that by putting lifeless bears in designated wilderness areas, the carcasses naturally decompose and supply meals for different species.
Apparently, there are “dozens of comparable websites” across the state—graveyards for not solely bears but in addition for different animals, resembling deer. Whereas the graveyards are odd and grotesquely fascinating, the overarching query is definitely not “why are there bear graveyards in Florida?” It’s “why are these bears dying within the first place?”
The reply is people.
Preserving the Florida Wildlife Hall
Most bear deaths in Florida happen on roadways. Orvieto infers that human growth generally threatens wildlife, together with bears, and creates the necessity for graveyards just like the one he visited in Seminole State Forest.
The Florida Wildlife Hall was an amazing step ahead, however some marvel if it’s sufficient. The hall encompasses almost 18 million acres of contiguous wilderness. It was put aside after the Florida Wildlife Hall Act turned regulation in 2021.
Nonetheless, organizations like Florida-based Bear Warriors United say the regulation has “no regulatory tooth.” Bear Warriors United advocates for added laws to protect the wildlife hall and shut crucial loopholes.
Katrina Shadix of Bear Warriors United first realized in regards to the bear graveyards from an nameless letter. The hand-written observe included GPS coordinates to a spot full of a whole bunch of bear carcasses and bones. Shadix investigated and spoke with a member of FWC’s bear-management staff who confirmed it was certainly a bear graveyard.
In a November 2023 Fb put up from that day, Shadix wrote: “[He] was upset that day as a result of the FWC had simply collected 4 lifeless bears in 24 hours, all victims of being hit and killed by automobiles on Florida roads. He confused the significance for Dept of Transportation constructing extra wildlife beneath/over passes, and wished that the Florida state legislators would allocate cash for secure wildlife passes.”
Have you ever heard about bear graveyards in Florida or anyplace else?
