UMATILLA – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is helping sponsor the Umatilla Black Bear Festival.
The family-oriented festival, now in its 10th year, celebrates the Florida black bear., is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m. at Cadwell Park in Umatilla. It’s free and is a great way for families to spend a few hours together doing something fun and educational at the same time.
This year FWC biologists will focus their presentations on living in bear country. At 10:30 a.m., bear biologist Mike Orlando will give an entertaining program on how to keep bears from making your home their home. At 2 p.m., biologist Tom Shupe will explain what people need to know to live and recreate safely in bear country.
Meanwhile, deep in the Ocala National Forest, FWC bear research biologists Walter McCown and Brian Scheick will lead field trip participants through natural bear habitat and explain a bit of bruin natural history. Field trips begin at 9:30 a.m. and are repeated every hour.
Back at the festival grounds, FWC biologists will be on hand at the Ask the Biologist booth to answer all your bear-related questions. In addition, FWC biologist Andrea Boliek will lay out a buffet of bear cuisine – both the healthy, natural kind, and the problem-causing kind only humans can provide – and she’ll explain the difference. You might be surprised at some of the things bears will consume and how biologists know.
“Our goal is for festival-goers to learn everything they always wanted to know about the Florida black bear – and more,” said Judy Gillan, FWC’s statewide outreach coordinator, and one of the festival’s original organizers. “It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade since the festival partners got together and started this event. The best part is that every year the interest and support from Umatilla and the surrounding community continues to grow and that means more and more people learn about the Florida black bear.”
The festival is presented by Defenders of Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, city of Umatilla, the FWC and the Umatilla Chamber of Commerce. For more information about the 10th Annual Umatilla Black Bear Festival, call 352-669-3511 or visit www.umatillachamber.org.
