Michele Meyers
In Motion Staff Writer
Mike Orlando is the Assistant Coordinator for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s bear management program. He travels all over Florida lecturing students, community officials and anyone who would like an education regarding the Florida black bear.
In early March, Daytona State College Professor Dr. Jennifer Bell invited Orlando to be a guest lecturer for the DSC Science Club.
“Science Club has focused their efforts this year by serving the department and their peers. In terms of their service to their peers, the students offer tutoring and a bridge to a career lecture series. Their goal is to keep students excited and interested in their future careers while at the same time helping them to understand the types of careers in their chosen fields,” said Bell.
Rachael Maccio, a student attending DSC’s College of Biological and Physical Sciences, who is also in the Science Club, attended Orlando’s lecture. “I thought his lecture was very enlightening especially about the part of nature we don’t see every day,” she said.
Maccio’s major is animal studies and she is working towards a degree in veterinary medicine. She is considering a joint unit of wildlife and zoological medicine that would allow her to work in zoos, while effectively being a part of animal conservation.
“I am glad he cleared up a lot of misconceptions about the way bears live, why they are not problematic without people being involved and the purpose behind hunting bears,” Maccio said.
Although black bears were hunted in 2015 — the first time since 1994 — due to widespread local protests, the hunts were called off until a future time to be determined. Critics say the hunt was mismanaged because more than 3,000 permits were issued to hunt a mere 200 bears. Black bears are thought to have inhabited Florida since before the 15th century, when the black bear population was around 11,000. By the 1970s the population dropped to less than 300 bears, according to Todd Wilkinson of the National Geographic. In the last several decades, however, the bear population has surged, with the most recent estimate at around 4,000, according to the Florida Wildlife Commission.
With a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife ecology and a master’s degree in forest ecology, Orlando has been studying the behavior of the Florida black bear for approximately 20 years and is considered the area expert.
He was instrumental in helping with the collaborative efforts of the FWC and Seminole county, enabling them to offer discounted bear-resistant trash containers to residents of the Urban Bear Management Area west of Interstate 4. He believes that since people have built neighborhoods in areas where the black bear dwells, it is necessary for the FWC to assist and educate those communities about peaceful means to coexist. Educational outreach is key to the success of coexistence.
Bell discovered Orlando was her neighbor and approached him regarding the career lecture series. He was excited to participate.
“The field of wildlife medicine is fairly small and extremely exciting. We have three wildlife veterinarians in the entire state of Florida and up until two years ago, one, and he was the veterinarian on every single panther capture that happened,” Orlando said.
“ If this is something that you are interested in as a career, the first thing to get right out of the way — and I know the professors in the room will appreciate this part — is to get your schooling. Your classes make a difference. Second, volunteer at a FWC wildlife event, even if it’s just for a day.”
Orlando wrapped up his lecture with a question-and-answer session, said his goodbyes then strolled out of the building with a six-foot long black bear head and pelt draped over his shoulder.