SFDB
@sfdb.bsky.social
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Previously of the South Florida Daily Blog & Stuck on the Palmetto. Politics, cars, the outdoors & life. Pro gun sense. Sharer of interesting news. Lotsa gift links. NY Times famous. Most photos shared here are not mine and are properly sourced.
![tured. It was raised by people since it was a baby.
"I just hope the cops don't get too trigger happy. If anyone sees the bear, they're probably going to blast it, and we don't want that to happen.... He won't hurt anyone."
The hunt began in earnest after nightfall, the bear's most active period. Fresh tracks and a clump of bear fur where the animal had crossed some barbed wire convinced the hunting parties the bear was still in the area, but they didn't see him. Two experienced golden retrievers picked up, but later lost, active tracks of the bear three times.
Tom Kazo, the dog tracker, said the missing bear was "like somebody's neighborhood cat getting out."
The search temporarily ended at 1 a.m. but resumed again at 6 a.m. Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission officers in charge of the hunt feared curiosity seekers and armed hunters would converge on the area today. "People will be turned back," Sgt. Charles Dennis said.
"Some individual will bring a weapon and will attempt to shoot the bear and will probably get his rear end in a sling. The bear has no front teeth, but I wouldn't want to be gummed by a 500-pound bear.
"The bear poses a threat in that people in this area are not used to seeing a bear," Dennis said. "Stay away. You won't do anything but get in the way and get hurt."
Ms. deBedts urged that "if anybody sees the bear, don't approach him. He's harmless and shy of strangers. Call the (Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission). Please do not go near the bear. Please do not shoot the bear."
A falconer, Jack Kassewitz Jr., used his birds of prey today to try to spot the bear from the sky. Sometimes falcons track a bear out of curiosity, he said.
[Photo 2 Caption]
Wildlife officers hunt for clues
One hunter said he thought someone had tampered with Chow's cage and set the bear free. Before Dennis questioned Ms. deBedts about the bear's escape, he read her her constitutional rights and warned her that what she told him could be used as evidence if any charges we](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ebovc3hnxjadg5cuul6geibu/bafkreiewwjga45jeaqsmkdrwqrsdhjubi7t7ls2cxeb3xhfwpavrjo7ktu)
