Ignorance

Something that bothers me is how people blatantly disrespect wild animals. I'm not a crazy animal advocate, but I have learned a lot about wild animals like black bears from seeing how passionate Travis is about them.

 I was frustrated the other day when I logged onto Facebook and I saw one of our "friends" bragging about hitting a bear on the way to work in his status update. He lives near the Camp Blanding area that Travis and other biologists studied the bears so this could have been one of the ones they tagged.

 Our "friend" kept replying to people's comments calling the bear "stupid" and was frustrated because the bear was in HIS way. He kept going on about how he would've shot the bear (which is illegal in Florida) if the bear put a dent in his truck.

We need to realize that these creatures were here first, long before us. This kind of ignorance frustrates me, but I can't let it get to me. That's why I hope this blog can shed light into the world of Florida animals, and hopefully help educate people.




*Side note: Travis went to the area where the bear was hit to see if it was struggling and he said it was gone. Bears are pretty tough animals so we're thinking it's ok. Travis called FWC anyway to notify them just in case.

Why I love bears

To get a better understanding on why I love bears, I'm sharing this picture of Travis. I mentioned he works for Florida Fish and Wildlife, and he gets to experience Florida's native animals in a unique way. Travis worked on a "Bear Project" near Camp Blanding in Clay County where they were able to tag and track the bears. As you can see he was able to get up-close and personal with these gentle giants. Contrary to what people believe, black bears are not very aggressive. Travis tells me that when they trap them (it doesn't hurt them), the bears just kind of sit there and let the biologists do what they need to. Travis says bears are "goofy" in a way and says they have personalities similar to dogs. How can you not love these guys?

Living with Florida Black Bears

"Did you know that your chances of encountering a Florida Black Bear are greater today than anytime in the past 100 years?" This informative video posted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission gives us insight into the life of Florida Black Bears and how we as humans can try and coexist with them.

Hello and welcome!

Greetings!  Welcome to my blog, "The Wildlife Reporter".  My name is Brittany Bassler and I am a Telecommunications News student at the University of Florida.  I am an aspiring reporter with a growing interest in wildlife.  So I decided to combine these two fields and create this blog to share my experiences as a journalist with a wildlife beat.

I have a growing interest in wildlife and conservation efforts because my boyfriend, Travis is a Wildlife and Ecology graduate from UF.  He's passionate about all things animals and nature - something that I really haven't had a full understanding of, and I still don't - but my experiences are growing thanks to him and that's what I'd like to share with you all.  I'm a pretty "girly girl" as he calls me, and I enjoy the outdoors and cute animals but not to the extent he does.  So immersing myself into this culture has been eye opening.  

Here I will be posting updates about my adventures with him  and also wildlife updates and news around Florida.  Travis works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and can give me direct insight about the wildlife community that I hope to share with you all. 

Thank you for reading - I hope my posts about the wildlife world will be informative and entertaining.

To get started you can follow this link and check out a cool picture of a Bobcat - and get an idea of what types of animals and updates we're interested in.