TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The nonprofit Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida awarded more than $16,000 in a grant to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for bear monitoring.
The FWC conducts more than 300 trapping efforts a year to reduce and resolve conflicts between people and bears. There is a bigger need to prevent these conflicts as both the bear and human populations continue to grow in Florida. That's where the grant funding comes in.
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The addition of advanced motion-activated cameras that allow for real-time photos and videos would give wildlife officials the ability to see footage immediately, reducing the amount of time that bears are in traps and increasing understanding of bears in general.
"We are thrilled to fund new technologies to monitor wildlife," said Andrew Walker, president and CEO of the foundation. "This is a win-win for the animals and FWC staff."
The grant money came from the Conserve Wildlife specialty license plate fund managed by the foundation. The foundation has raised and given away more than $32 million to support conservation, fishing, hunting and outdoor education for children and adults.
Click here to learn more about bear management in Florida.