Bears from Florida face uncertain future across state line

FARGO - Black bears living in the Osceola National Forest in Florida have a high survival rate. <br> <br> It&#39;s when they cross the state line into Georgia that they don&#39;t fare very well. <br> <br> An estimated 830 black bears live in Osceola and the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which were included in a five-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey because they are part of the same ecosystem. <br> <br> Bears are protected at the wildlife refuge, but hunting is allowed in Georgia outside the Okefenokee swamp&#39;s boundaries. Since 1984, the average hunting season in the five Georgia counties surrounding the Okefenokee claims 35 bears, according to the study released this week. <br> <br> The study found that female black bears in the Osceola forest have among the highest survival rates 97 percent of all black bears in the Southeast. That&#39;s largely due to a ban on bear hunting in Florida since 1992. <br> <br> While hunters may threaten black bears in Georgia, the study showed that hunters in Florida are actually helping the animals thrive. <br> <br> Bears in the national forest are heavier, healthier and have higher birth rates than those in the swamp because they have learned to steal corn from feeders used by Florida hunters to bait deer. The study estimates corn accounts for 37 percent of the diet among bears living in Osceola. <br> <br> ``Bears have significantly benefited from the deer baiting that takes place in Florida,&#39;&#39; the study said. ``Should that practice suddenly cease, negative consequences to the local bear population would surely result.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> It concluded that the bear population in the Okefenokee would drop without migration to the north. <br> <br> ``Our data suggest that immigration is crucial to the sustainability of the hunted portion of the overall bear population and that bears from within the (refuge) and Florida provide these surplus immigrants,&#39;&#39; the study said. <br> <br> Joe Clark, a biologist who wrote the report, cautioned managers at the Osceola and Okefenokee to be careful with programs such as the re-introduction of long-leaf pine habitat, along with controlled burns, both of which could reduce feeding areas for the bears. <br> <br> Clark added that the use of herbicides by commercial timber companies also has an affect on the bears. But the study shows bears in the region ``are doing pretty good,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Jim Burkhart, a refuge ranger, said wildlife officials now know that the purchase of private land between the Okefenokee and Osceola in the past decade has helped protect bears and other animals who migrate between the swamp and national forest. <br> <br> ``I think wildlife corridors are going to be an important component to what we do,&#39;&#39; Burkhart said. ``Some of these animals need a wide, wide range.&#34;