Last Wednesday on March 4th a man living in Gulf Breeze, Florida experience something that Wildlife experts call a very rare incident: a black bear climbed onto a man’s porch and attacked him.
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He said he was sitting on the porch when the bear decided to join him. It scratched him across the chest and then ran off. The situation is still currently being investigated so it’s not clear if the bear was spooked and then attacked him or if the bear was taunted by the man and provoked to attack.
Regardless, due to the dangerous encounter, the man called the police who arrived on the scene to offer him medical help. Luckily he wasn’t seriously injured so he refused any medical assistance, however, he did fill a police report on what happened.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that they have placed traps near the man’s home in attempts to capture the bear. If they do capture it and verify that it’s the same bear then they will euthanize it due to it being a danger to public safety.
“If the target bear is captured, we will humanely kill it as its behavior is a risk to public safety,” FWC spokeswoman Bekah Nelson said according to an AP press release. “Non-target bears will be released.”
So far no one has reported on any other recent black bear incidents in the area, however, the FWC is still reminding everyone that it is illegal to feed bears because of the risks it has for the animals and for the safety of the public.