Game Camera captured BF in Florida?

[Huntster]

48 minutes ago, MIB said:

 

Um ... they do not FOLLOW the bear population anywhere.   That is a mistaken evaluation of the data.   The overlap in concentrations of reports occurs because they use the same food sources.   

 

MIB

 

And also prefer the same type of forested habitat, and also prefer to stay away from grizzlies.

 

This was an interesting find:

 

https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Black-Bear/Population

 

...........The Western/Southwestern subpopulation extends south and east from Santa Cruz County to San Diego County.

Prior to 1950, black bears were not believed to inhabit the Central Coast or Transition Ranges (Storer and Tevis 1978, Hall and Kelson 1959 Grinnell et al 1937) where black bears were believed to be excluded or limited by the larger California grizzly bear (Ursus arctos californicus). After the California grizzly bear became extinct around the turn of the century, black bears started to appear in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties (Grinnel et al 1937). The Department of Fish and Wildlife supplemented this natural range expansion by moving black bears into southern California during the early 1930's (Burgduff 1935). The current black bear population in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains is believed to be at least partially descended from this supplemental introduction.

Probably less than 10 percent of the statewide black bear population inhabits the Central Western/Southwestern California bioregion and bears are restricted to the Central Coast and Transverse Mountain Ranges. In the Central Western province, bears were detected by bait stations with decreasing frequency as latitude increased (Schultz 1994). Based on studies of black bears in Chaparral habitats in Arizona (LeCount 1982) and southern California (Stubblefield 1992, Novick 1981, Moss 1972) bear density is probably less than 0.25 bears per square mile.

 

This mirrors some areas of Alaska, particularly Southeast Alaska. The southernmost islands of the Alexander Archipelago have no grizzlies, and boast incredibly high black bear densities, and these tend to be huge black bears. These areas also feature high sasquatch report densities. The islands of northernmost half of the region has lots of grizzlies and brown bears, and have no black bears and few sasquatch reports. The mainland of both halves have both bear species, and include sasquatch reports.

 

[norseman]

But not always. They overlap. Start at 1:00.

 

 

[Huntster]

57 minutes ago, norseman said:

But not always. They overlap.........

 

Yes, they do., particularly on the mainland in southeast. Biologists are still trying to understand why there are grizzly-free islands:

 

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=509

 

Southeast Alaska is home to some of the densest populations of bears in the world. But the distribution is peculiar – some islands have only brown bears, some only black bears, and some areas of the mainland have both. Biologists studying genetics and the relationships between different bear populations are developing a picture of how bears may have colonized the region and thrived after the ice age..........

 

It's pretty easy to understand why there are islands and peninsulas. with high brown bear densities and no black bears: Admiralty, Baranov, Chichigof, Kodiak, and the Alaska Peninsula. No place for black bears to escape, and especially the treeless areas mean they die.

 

But the big islands in the south end of the archipelago: Prince of Wales, Revalligeddo, Mitkof, Kupreanof, Kuiu, Etolin, Annette, Wrangell, Duke, Gravina.........it's a lot of prime land free of brown bears. It's perfect territory to grow BIG black bears........and sasquatches.........

[Catmandoo]

2 hours ago, Huntster said:

with high brown bear densities and no black bears: Admiralty, Baranov, Chichigof,

 

Years ago, I was in Tenakee inlet, Corner Bay on Chichagof Island.  Chichagof Island has the highest density, bears per square mile in the world. During the salmon run, the bears were always on the beach, day or night and the little Sitka deer were scared. Huge bears. I watched adult  bears explode into a full speed territorial charge. Very impressive.  This wildlife is best observed through binoculars or spotting scopes.

 

BTW, this thread is about activity in Florida.

[Huntster]

1 hour ago, Catmandoo said:

.......BTW, this thread is about activity in Florida.

 

It's about an alleged game cam pic taken in Florida, but no image has been provided.

 

I don't think one will be forthcoming, either.

[norseman]

4 hours ago, Huntster said:

 

Yes, they do., particularly on the mainland in southeast. Biologists are still trying to understand why there are grizzly-free islands:

 

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=509

 

 

 

 

It's pretty easy to understand why there are islands and peninsulas. with high brown bear densities and no black bears: Admiralty, Baranov, Chichigof, Kodiak, and the Alaska Peninsula. No place for black bears to escape, and especially the treeless areas mean they die.

 

But the big islands in the south end of the archipelago: Prince of Wales, Revalligeddo, Mitkof, Kupreanof, Kuiu, Etolin, Annette, Wrangell, Duke, Gravina.........it's a lot of prime land free of brown bears. It's perfect territory to grow BIG black bears........and sasquatches.........

 

I know here Griz prefer more open south facing slopes and dig with their big claws fer rock chucks and burrowing critters.

 

Black bears like more north slopes and go after stumps and rotten logs. And eat bugs.

 

But in that video it sounded like the Griz was afraid of the Squatch and not the other way around.

[Explorer]

Are there maps showing the feral hogs density distributions in Florida?  Something similar to the bear range/density maps that Hunter posted.

 

Given that these Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve rangers were studying feral hog density with camera traps and supposedly found a BF, it would be interesting to check if there is a correlation between areas of high feral hog density and areas with high number of BF reports.

 

I don't think black bears kill/eat hogs?  But BF supposedly does.

 

Thus, maybe a feral hog density map will be more appropriate to compare to BF presence than bear density maps.

[Huntster]

2 hours ago, Explorer said:

Are there maps showing the feral hogs density distributions in Florida?  Something similar to the bear range/density maps that Hunter posted.

 

Given that these Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve rangers were studying feral hog density with camera traps and supposedly found a BF, it would be interesting to check if there is a correlation between areas of high feral hog density and areas with high number of BF reports...........

 

 

2 hours ago, Explorer said:

........I don't think black bears kill/eat hogs?  But BF supposedly does..........

 

Bears love bacon, or so I've heard.......

 

 

https://articles.extension.org/pages/63656/natural-predators-of-feral-hogs

 

Quote

..........The black bear is known to prey on feral hogs of all ages; however, the impact of predation by this bear on feral hog populations is not known.  Some researchers have speculated that black bears probably kill few if any feral hogs, especially given that an adult hog would represent a formidable adversary for a black bear.  In fact, in the 1920s a feral boar in the Okefenokee Swamp was reported to have killed a black bear in a fight between the two animals.  Similar accounts of feral boars killing bears during fights in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas were reported in the 1880s.  Being opportunistic, black bears have been reported to raid nylon net live traps used for feral hog control at high elevations in the GSMNP to obtain any trapped hogs contained within these devices..........

 

Feral hogs herd, and they're omnivorous like bears. That makes them pretty formidable prey animals.

Edited May 10, 2019 by Huntster

[ShadowBorn]

           

Comparing the two maps and the density of the hogs and where the concentration  of these creature seem to be. It does seem to fit a pattern that what ever creatures are in Florida are different from what we are seeing of those that are following Black bears. The one way to find out is to search this pattern in other States. States that have a high density of hogs and see if these states follow suit as Florida. If they do follow the same pattern then we are really on to something about them that we did not know before. We can then know how to hunt them and they would have no idea that we were even tracking. We would have the step on them for the first time by knowing where they will be. We just need the information of the time of season and we would be all set.It would be like taking a deer or any other animal that lives in the forest.

 

[Explorer]

5 hours ago, Huntster said:

 

 

 

 

Bears love bacon, or so I've heard.......

 

https://articles.extension.org/pages/63656/natural-predators-of-feral-hogs

 

Feral hogs herd, and they're omnivorous like bears. That makes them pretty formidable prey animals.

 

Thanks for doing the research, Hunter.

 

I am surprised about the large feral hog population density in central Florida.

 

If BF lived there, they will have easy meals.

 

On the bear video, it is amazing what you can find in Youtube!

 

Based on that article, yes bear will predate on hogs, but apparently they are not going to fool around with the big boars.  

 

Would be nice to show the same quality of game camera video with a BF predating on a hog!  

 

I recall seeing a Youtube video interview of a guy who saw a BF chasing hogs in the northern part of the Everglades.  I think he claimed that the BF had two hogs; one on each arm.  But my memory fails.  If I find time, I will try to google that video up.

[Huntster]

Seems to me that two areas of high hog concentration on that Florida map (the area west of Okeechobee and the coastal area north of Waccasassa Bay) have low sasquatch report densities.

 

That video was shot on Tejon Ranch north of Los Angeles in the Tehachapi Mountains. It's a huge private ranch. I've hunted small game there once, and my brother had regular access for years, though he never hunted big game there. The movie industry shoots lots of movies there. The ranch manages the wildlife there, and my bet is that the game dam was part of that work. 

 

Like black bear predation on moose calves, their easiest and safest meal would be with the piglets. A sow hog would have a more difficult time protecting a large litter than a moose protecting a single calf.

[Explorer]

I could not find the interview video that I was looking for, but I found a couple of videos of interest.

 

The first link below is the Myakka skunk ape video/photo and the visit and interview of the witness by Finding Bigfoot crew.

In this video they disclose that the area was full of dead pigs everywhere (near the end of the interview at ~2:40).

 

https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot/videos/there-were-dead-pigs-everywhere

 

The second video, shown below, is one of the best skunk ape videos out there is the one from Mississippi from back in 2013.  Probably been discussed here in BFF back then (I did not check).

 

 

[Explorer]

One more map that is needed to put in perspective the BF sighting reports is a map of the human population density in Florida.

 

Below is one based on the US Census that shows good granularity.

 

It looks likes those wild hogs (shown in the map that Hunter posted) in south central Florida are hanging where there are few people (between Lake Okeechobee and Highway 4 (non-coastal)) and avoid the Everglades.

[ShadowBorn]

17 minutes ago, Explorer said:

 

It looks likes those wild hogs (shown in the map that Hunter posted) in south central Florida are hanging where there are few people (between Lake Okeechobee and Highway 4 (non-coastal)) and avoid the Everglades

Off course they are going to avoid the everglades since there are other predators in the everglades. Like alligators and the other growing problem pythons or is it boa constrictors. Either way avoidance I would say is in their best interest unless they happen to wonder of by accident.

 

Now I would say that where farming is going on these wild hogs would be most active. I know that in Michigan it is free reign on the free roaming wild hog/ boars with just a small game license all year round since they create havoc on all the farming that goes in our state. Like Huntster says they breed like rabbits so these creatures are doing the humans a favor eating these hogs in any State that the Hogs are roaming in numbers. These hogs tear the crap out of everything. 

[Huntster]

Here is a wider map of sasquatch reports in the region, centered between Jacksonville and Tallahassee, and ranging out 500 miles.