SANFORD, Fla. (AP) - Wildlife officials are investigating after a black bear was found dead in a central Florida neighborhood.
The Orlando Sentinel (https://goo.gl/J6LSPv ) reports that a passerby first spotted the bear early Wednesday morning near Sanford, just west of Interstate 4.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers responded and determined the 6-year-old female bear might have been shot, likely in the area. Officers collected the bear’s carcass, and a necropsy will determine an official cause of death.
Killing or harming a bear in Florida is illegal without a permit and outside of a bear hunting season. The state’s only bear hunting season in the past two decades was in 2015.
An FWC spokesman says the person who killed the bear could face a fine or jail time.
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Information from: Orlando Sentinel, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/
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