Ocala Nat'l Forest - Bears

Yes, there are Florida Black Bears in the Ocala National Forest. This year we spotted large amounts of scat as we hiked to write our upcoming book on the trails of ONF. But toward the end it got even more real as we found this fresh track in the sand. That's my hand; but the bear's footprint. We never saw a bear, even hiking about 120 miles through the forest, but they ARE there! Luckily, they are generally nocturnal and docile and will easily run from you most of the time- OKAY!

Photo by Susan Young - Co-author