coryi4ever's Identifications

On the edge of Blue Hole, FL Caverns SP. Found this nerodia down in some cypress knees eating what I thought was a red salamander, pulled him up on the shore, and apparently he was in the process of killing a large adult waterdog, unfortunately. Would've been the best find of the trip; still super cool. Not sure of the taxonomy with waterdogs here.

My first from the state, and the largest and most vibrant I've seen. I've had lots of false alarms over the years, thinking I cruised one only to find it was grass or something, but this time it was unmistakable and neon, probably bc of the yellow stripe. 3rd thru 5th pics are in situ.

Black, with beige nozzle, a beige spot on one of the legs. Medium size.
The bear walked straight towards my sliding door as I was sitting watching tv. It looked straight at me as we were face to face with only the glass door keeping us apart. I managed to take a photos as my cell was on my lap.
Then it walked around my pool which was being built at the time sniffing and being curious. Then walked away through the wooded area in my backyard. Scary yet beautiful experience!

A REQUEST:
When recommending an identification, please adhere to current standards of taxonomy as deployed by iNaturalist at this time — as opposed to identifying and classifying organisms based on personal beliefs about what taxonomy can, should, or of right ought to be in opposition to iNaturalist’s current taxonomy. Comments noting such taxonomic disagreements, however, are welcomed and encouraged. I prefer my observations to be inline with current taxonomic standards as deployed by iNaturalist (as opposed to my personal beliefs) so that this and other observations are readily accessible to iNaturalist users with greater efficiency and usability. Thanks!

If you have any questions regarding this observation, feel free to contact me or leave a comment below!

Janson Jones,
http://floridensis.com.

This bear was from the Seminole Forest area close to our neighborhood. He stopped in my yard to eat berries from a tree he was under. He stayed for about an hour and was very relaxed even while I took pictures of him.

Bear was on my porch for 45 minutes eating birdseed from a feeder it knocked down. It climbed 4 or 5 feet up a tree just 5 feet from the house and hung out there for a while. This was last night at 12 AM.

Found in vacant property crossing sandy jeep / ATV trails. Third photo shows smaller rounder track ... front foot? As there is some possibility of hunting and the tracks were on private land, I am obscuring the location.
http://myfwc.com/hunting/by-species/bear/

The American Black Bear is relatively common in the Ocala National Forest here in Florida. Black bears are easily identifiable by their coloring and, though can appear threatening, are herbivores by nature. I was able to classify this specimen by its berry eating and black fur along with a lighter face.