Shoppers at the Sunday Farmers’ Market at Lake Eola Park got more than they bargained for in fresh and local produce when a cub black bear was spotted in the trees.
Shoppers and park visitors gathered on the ground to watch the furry predator until Orlando Police Department officers cordoned off the area. OPD then contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for help in capturing the bear.
FWC estimates there are 1,200 black bears in the Central Florida region. Raids on populated areas are becoming more common, and in 2015 the state began authorizing an annual bear hunt.
Although black bears can be dangerous and should be avoided, their diet is largely vegetarian – grass, berries, seeds and the like – although they will also eat insects and road killers. They are not apex predators in the sense of hunting and killing humans, despite the rhetoric you may hear at nextdoor and district commission meetings.
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