Bears in Topsail Hill State Park Florida

edatlanta wrote:
Why shoot it? We are in their environment. Unless it proves to be a problem, other than moving around, we should leave it alone. Respect it, but leave it alone.

As much as they give me the willies, I feel the same way about snakes. Living on a Tennessee mountaintop, we see copperheads and timber rattlesnakes in abundance. As long as they stay out in the acreage we get along just fine. I did have to show a wayward copperhead a new home when he decided to lay in wait in my flowerbed next to the front walkway. The same with a timber rattler who though living under our back porch was the place to be.
Leaving them alone to their own devices keeps my house and grounds relatively free of mice and rats.