Jun 24, 2009 4:37 pm US/Eastern
Bear Booted Out Of Weston Found In Wellington
WELLINGTON (CBS4) ―
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A black bear found in Wellington on Wednesday was the same bear captured in Weston last month.
CBS
A black bear which must have a thing for cities whose names begin with "w" has been captured again in South Florida.
Wednesday Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission captured a black bear in the Wellington which had been seen on and off in the area since the weekend.
Spotted early in the morning, wildlife officials shot the 300 pound bear with a tranquilizer dart as lumbered along near a canal. When they checked an ID tag they found that it was the same one they had caught last month in Weston and had re-located to a state preserve in Collier County.
Wildlife officials estimated there are between 2,500 and 3,000 black bears in the state. They are listed as a threatened species. Although it's common to see bears as development encroaches upon their habitat, its rare to seem them in South Florida. Prior to last months sighting in Weston, the last time anyone reported seeing a wild bear in Broward County was in 1978.
Occasionally black bears have had run-ins with cars. In February, a 200 pound bear ran into a car on the Turnpike near US-27. Black bears are typically found in the Big Cypress Preserve but sometimes travel in search of food. The preserve is more than 30 miles away from Weston.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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