(NewsNation) — Don’t take selfies with the depressed bear, a sheriff’s office in northern Florida says.
The law enforcement agency in Walton County, located along the Florida Panhandle, asked drivers on Thursday to stay away from a black bear that “has shown signs of severe stress” and is “clearly not in the mood for pictures,” the agency said in a post on Facebook.
“Famous last words, ‘If not friend, why friend shaped?'” the WCSO said in a Facebook post. “Because this black bear is stressed depressed lemon zest.
Both law enforcement agencies and officials from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission have long warned people not to try and approach, feed or take pictures with bears, especially during the spring and summer when bears are more likely to be active around urban areas.
Officers responded to the location where the apparently depressed bear had been sighted, but by the time they arrived, the bear “had dispersed and walked off into the adjacent woods,” according to Lisa Thompson, a spokesperson for the conservation commission.
State officials report a significant increase in human encounters with bears in recent years. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports a 33% increase in animal nuisance calls, with nearly 6,000 bear-related calls out of a total of 14,000 calls in 2022.
“The best thing people can do if they see a bear in an unexpected area is to give them plenty of space and to never approach or feed them and they will typically move along on their own,” said Mike Orlando, the wildlife agency’s Bear Management Program coordinator, in a news release.