Although rare in Florida, two bear attacks reported within one week
Bear and human conflict incidents are extremely rare in Florida, although this incident was the second incident of a bear injuring a person within a week’s time. On January 13, the FWC and the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office (VCSO) responded to a call from a woman who was injured by a black bear, while walking her dog in DeBary, Florida, about 9:00 p.m. Officers arrived on the scene to find an adult female bear in a nearby tree, with yearlings. The woman’s injuries were not life threatening, and her dog was not injured. FWC bear biologists humanely killed the bear with a medicated dart while she was in the tree. No attempt was made to capture the three 100-pound yearlings, as they were old enough to survive on their own.
The FWC receives up to 6,000 bear-related calls a year and have documented only 15 incidents of people being moderately to seriously injured by bears in more than 50 years.
To reduce human-bear conflicts, remove or secure all food attractants from around your house and yard, including garbage, pet food and bird seed. To avoid an encounter between a bear and your dog, bang on your door and flip your house lights on and off to give the bear time to leave the area before letting your dog out. If your dog and a bear get into a fight, make noise and use your bear spray or a water hose if available. If the bear makes contact with you, fight back aggressively.
Contact the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) if you feel threatened by a bear, if you observe a sick, injured, dead or orphaned bear; or to report someone who is either harming bears or intentionally feeding them. To learn more about bears and how to avoid conflicts with them, visit BearWise.org or myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/bear/living.