Woman walking dogs attacked by bear in Florida

[JColt]

Keep that gun handy Rich...

ORLANDO, Florida - A bear attacked and seriously injured a woman walking her dogs on Monday evening in Florida, a state where bear complaints have risen in recent years.

The woman from the central Florida town of Longwood was being treated at Orlando Regional Medical Center for serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to Lieutenant Alisa Keyes of Seminole County Fire and Rescue. Authorities did not release her name.


While the local news frequently has stories of foraging bears caught on tape, Keyes said she is not aware of any previous incident involving injuries.

"She was out walking her dogs. The bear attacked her. She got away and ran to a neighbor's house," Keyes said. "The bear ran off and they were unable to locate him."

Karen Parker of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, which sent biologists to the scene to search for paw prints and set a trap, said bears go into residential areas in search of easily obtainable food.

"It's fall and the bears are trying to fatten up," Parker said. "Our big message is remove attractants from your yard."

The wildlife commission receives the most complaints about bears in the northeast region of Florida, and the Ocala National Forest in central Florida, where most of them live, Parker said.

http://news.msn.com/us/woman-walking-dogs-attacked-by-bear-in-florida

 

[WebSlave]

Oh, great.......

 

[deedeeiam]

I haven't heard anything else about this story. It technically wasn't being ruled an attack at the beginning of the week, because she hadn't let DNR look at her injuries. I saw where they caught a little cub, probably from last year's litter, but that was about it.

She had a bunch of little yippy dogs off-leash, barking like crazy at 8:00 at night in an area known to have bears running around. If you don't do any of that, you should be fine!

 

[JColt]

Bear that attacked woman identified through DNA, won't be killed
December 18, 2013|By Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel

A mother bear that mauled a Central Florida woman has been identified through DNA testing and will not be killed, wildlife officials said late Tuesday.

Two other black bears already have been trapped and killed since the Dec. 2 attack on 54-year-old Susan Chalfant because state fish and game officers suspected they could have been responsible.

On Dec. 9, officers captured the female bear that, it turns out, actually attacked Chalfant as she walked her dogs near Longwood. The mother bear took the bait planted in a trap in Wingfield North subdivision, where Chalfant had been mauled.

The bear's three cubs were nearby, and two were captured. The third ran off.

Her saliva was sent to a lab and came back a match with samples from Chalfant's wounds and clothes, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Carli Segelson said.

The bear and two cubs are at Busch Gardens in Tampa, although they are not on public display, Segelson said. The third cub also will be taken to the theme park if it is captured, but it is old enough to live on its own.

The plan is to release the cubs, which are about 11 months old, into Ocala National Forest in the spring after they are weaned. The mother will be transferred to an accredited wildlife facility, commission officials said, but they did not say where.

"Normally, we would have euthanized this bear, but for the benefit of the cubs we thought placing them with Busch Gardens would be best," Segelson said.

In a statement, a Busch Gardens vice president said the park has "the expertise and facilities to effectively care for and house these animals" and would work with wildlife officials to eventually relocate the bears.

The mother and cubs were taken to an animal-rescue center near Apopka shortly after their capture, but the mother pulled apart a chain-link cage, and they got out. They were recaptured on the property and transferred to another sanctuary in Sorrento in Lake County.

The mauling was the most serious documented bear attack in Florida history. It occurred in a residential neighborhood off Markham Woods Road known for bear sightings.

Chalfant, covered in blood, ran to a neighbor's house after the bear attacked her head. Her current condition has not been made public.

The first documented, unprovoked bear attack in Florida was reported in March 2012 when a woman named Terri Gurley was bitten by a female bear as she walked her dog at an apartment complex near Longwood.

The 300-pound bear, which was the mother of a cub, was euthanized. The cub was sent to an animal-rescue sanctuary.

One of the two bears euthanized after the attack on Chalfant was a 200-pound female captured Dec. 4. The other was a 200-pound male caught Dec. 8.

Both were about the same size as the bear that attacked Chalfant and had paws about the size of prints left at the scene on English Ivy Court. Both were captured nearby.

Officials at the time cited the severity of Chalfant's injuries in deciding to put the bears down.

"Our first priority is public safety, and based on the facts presented at that time, this was the best option," Segelson said Tuesday.

In August 2012, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission took the black bear off its list of threatened species but made it illegal to hurt or kill a bear or own or sell bear parts.



http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...17_1_busch-gardens-female-bear-bear-sightings

 

[Lucille]

Florida Woman Says Five Bears Attacked Her
A central Florida woman was recovering Sunday after reportedly being attacked by five bears the night before.

The attack happened just before 8 p.m. Saturday at a home in Seminole County, Fla., authorities told NBC's Orlando affiliate WESH.

The woman, who name was not released, had left her garage door open, officials with the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told the station.

She said when she returned to take out the trash five bears attacked and dragged her outside, the station reported. She was taken to South Seminole hospital with injuries to her leg and face, according to WESH.

Sunshine State wildlife officials just issued a warning that hibernation season has ended so the public should expect to see more bears.

— Hasani Gittens

 

[JColt]

story as amended from original Lucille. there were 5 bears but only one attacked. thank goodness for her!