MELBOURNE, Fla. — A young Florida black bear has made her public debut at Brevard Zoo after returning to the zoo because people had been feeding her in the wild.
Rickie, a Florida black bear yearling, is now in the zoo’s public-facing main bear habitat with fellow black bears Brody and Betty after several weeks of introductions.
Rickie first came to East Coast Zoological Foundation’s Black Bear Rehabilitation Center at Brevard Zoo in April 2025 as a 2.5-pound, 6-week-old cub.
Zoo officials said she had been found wandering in the Florida Panhandle without her mother.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Bear Management team brought Rickie to the zoo’s L3 Harris Animal Care Center, where she received a veterinary checkup.
Because Rickie was so young, she required around-the-clock bottle feeding. Zoo officials said her care team took steps to make sure she kept her natural fear of humans and did not associate people with food.
Staff disguised themselves with masks and ghillie suits, avoided speaking near her and used a loud fan to reduce the sounds of their movements while delivering food.
Rickie later gained enough weight to move to the rehabilitation center with other cubs, where she spent 10 months learning bear behaviors such as foraging, climbing and socializing.
In January, the cubs were released into forested areas of Florida with few humans and other bears.
Zoo officials said Rickie showed independence and wariness of humans at the time of release, both of which are important for a bear cub to survive in the wild.
But in the months after her release, officials said Rickie was given human food by members of the public.
The zoo said that likely erased months of work meant to keep Rickie from connecting people with food.
To prevent possible human-bear conflict and keep both Rickie and the public safe, FWC Bear Management staff brought her back to the zoo to become a permanent member of Brevard Zoo’s Florida black bear group.
Zoo officials said Rickie’s return is rare. Of the 17 bears rehabilitated and released by East Coast Zoological Foundation over the last year, Rickie is the only one that had to return to the zoo’s care.
Brevard Zoo said it is proud to give Rickie a permanent home, but officials emphasized that feeding bears is illegal and can increase the risk of dangerous human-bear conflicts.
Officials encourage residents to follow BearWise guidance and respect bears’ space.
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