Cars Killed Record Number Of Florida Black Bears In 2005

The number of black bears killed on Florida’s highways hit a record high last year, as booming population and traffic growth continue to impinge on natural habitat. Vehicles killed 139 bears last year, topping the previous high of 132 in 2002, according to preliminary figures from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Nuisance complaints and bear sightings also hit a record of 2,105, a nearly 35 percent increase from the previous high in 2004.

Many of the bear deaths are happening in collisions near sensitive environmental areas where explosive growth is increasing traffic.

To deal with the problem, the state Department of Transportation and other agencies have begun designing wildlife crossings into new roads.

“It’s very expensive, but it has become the cost of doing business,” said Stephen Tonjes, environmental scientist with the Transportation Department. “It’s always a matter of balancing the dollar with what the public wants.”

The proposed $60 million widening of Interstate 4 to six lanes from State Road 44 to Interstate 95 in Volusia County will include three wildlife crossings — two under the roadway and a third above it. Construction could begin in six years, but the state is working to move up that schedule.

Elevated spans on I-4 would stretch about 108 feet over two crossings allowing animals to move underneath traffic. The land bridge — 212 feet long, 150 feet wide and estimated to cost more than $4 million — will be the largest of its kind in Florida, transportation officials said.

You know I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wild black bear. Apparently I’m not driving in the right (or wrong as it were) places.

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