Black Bear Found, Tranquilized In Cutler Bay
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Surveillance cameras captured a 200-pound black bear scampering in front of a Cutler Bay home.
It happened to be the home of Francisco Dos Santos.
"I never have seen this in Miami especially Cutler Bay. Like I was concerned there are a lot of kids over here. You never know what's going to happen. I was scared about this," said Dos Santos.
Dossantos saw the bear when he checked video from cameras outside his house.
"Somebody could have been hurt and there could have been a lot of damage and you don't know where he was coming from," said Dos Santos.
Linette Marshal also spotted the bear -- this time up in a tree in the area of SW 86 Court and 207th Street.
"We've never had this type of problem. Never and there are pets in the yard and I was scared for them," said Marshal.
Florida wildlife officials were finally able to track down the bear and tranquilize it on Friday.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and another agency later caged the bear and took it to the Bear Conservatory of Naples where it will be treated and released.
FWC said this was a wild bear, not one that had been held in captivity.
Biscayne National Park is nearby but City Council Member Roger Corriat said there are no bears there.
"What they suggested is that it might have come from the Everglades or Big Cypress Preserve. There are canals that run through the park that connect to a residential area," said Corriat.
There are an estimated 4,350 wild black bears in Florida according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission but animal expert and Zoo Miami Communications Director Ron Magill doesn't think this is a wild black bear.
"Though it's not uncommon to find bears in residential neighborhoods in Florida, it is uncommon to find them in Cutler Bay," stated Magill. "To have a Florida black bear that far south in this area is very uncommon. My suspicion is this is a probably a bear that escaped from a rehab facility or some other facility but it's not really a wild black bear that has come down from the central part of the state."
An FWC spokesman says it's been at least 20 years since a wild black bear was captured in South Florida.
