Microchipped bear shot, skinned Eustis, FL (US) Incident Date: Monday, Dec 5, 2005 County: Lake Local Map: available Disposition: Alleged Case Images: 1 files available Alleged: » Terry Lee Ratchford » Gary Dale Heckle

Case ID: 6650 Classification: Shooting, Mutilation/Torture Animal: other wildlife View more cases in FL (US) Login to Watch this Case

Two Lake County men have been arrested and charged with killing a threatened Florida black bear and trying to skin the bear to take the meat for food and the hide for a rug.

Terry Ratchford, 42, is charged with killing a threatened species and faces up to five years in prison, WESH 2 News reported.

Gary Dale Heckle, 28, is charged with possession of a threatened species and could get a year behind bars.

Witnesses called state officers on Dec. 5, 2005, to report that a bear wearing a radio collar had just been shot and was being skinned on Cardinal Road in Eustis. Ratchford said it was self-defense, but witnesses said the bear was lying under a tree, not bothering anyone when Ratchford shot it.
Witnesses also told wildlife officials that the bear ran away from Ratchford after the first shot was fired, but Ratchford shot it again, stopping it. They said he then he walked up behind the bear and shot it in the head, killing it.

Officers also found a freshly dug pit nearby that Ratchford said he had his sons dig for disposal of the bear carcass, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
University of Florida researcher Kim Annis worked with wildlife officials to relocate the bear to the Ocala National Forest from Seminole County this summer. She said evidence shows that the bear wasn't shot in self-defense because it was shot facing away.

The bear's death marks the end of the animal's nearly six-month documented journey in Central Florida. The bear was part of a research project that tracks nuisance bears that are relocated. So far, Annis has tagged 39 bears with radio-transmitter collars. The bear, which was known as N15, was moved to Lake County last summer after a Lake Mary church reported that he was a frequent visitor to its dumpsters. Wildlife officials said the bear never showed any aggression toward people; they just couldn't deter him from Dumpster-diving.
He was relocated to the Ocala National Forest on June 29, 2005. For several months, he traveled extensively in Central Florida, officials said. He even crashed a wedding on July 4, 2005 near Lady Lake. "But aside from shocking the guests, he didn't really bother anyone," said Joy Hill, of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

In early December 2005, the bear wandered to the Eustis area. "On December 5, 2005, the FWC got its final call about the curious, traveling black bear. N15 had wandered into his last yard," Hill said.

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References

WESH News - December 16, 2005

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