Imagine walking out during the cool morning hours. Walking your dog, checking the mail, picking up the latest issue of The Hernando Sun… and encountering a bear. How would you respond? It’s becoming a less rare occurrence than you might think. Lots of bear encounters are reported each year, with a small handful of physical encounters having been reported. With our Florida Wildlife Commissions heretofore refusal to allow regulated hunting, the population of bears continues to grow. Couple that with our state’s seemingly unrestricted development concentrating the bear population onto what little wildlands we have remaining. It sets the stage for many more human/bear encounters and yes, that can be a deadly mix.
On the morning of May 5th, in Collier County, a human and bear encounter did turn deadly. Human remains were reported along Hwy 29, northeast of Everglades City. Law enforcement officials and FWC biologists have confirmed that the person was the victim of a bear attack. Details are not available at this time, but I will update you here in this column as I learn them. What I do know, from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, is that a person is dead and a bear is being hunted.
Now, if you do happen to encounter a bear, at a distance, enjoy the sight and take a photo or two if you can, but never approach or attempt to follow the bear. If you happen to encounter one at close range however, be still and remain standing in an upright position. If the bear shows any interest, speak to it in a calm, but loud voice, to go away. Slowly, try to back away, but hold your ground if the movement appears to irritate the bear. And if it attacks, fight! I mean, fight that rascal like your life depends on it, because it does.
For years, we’ve been told to curl up into a fetal position and play dead. Turns out, that’s pretty bad advice. Bears regularly dine on dead things and speaking for myself, I’m not going to make it easy on him. One uncomfortable fact about black bears, is that they are the second most likely bear in the bear world, to see you as a meal. Only polar bears dine on people with greater frequency. So, target the eyes and snout if possible, those are the most sensitive site to direct your retaliatory strikes. And while you do this; pray…
Now, if you are packing heat, don’t hesitate. The Self Defense Act of 2024 has your back. It is legal to use deadly force with a firearm on a bear prior to the bear actually injuring you. Once you know that you are in imminent danger, the law allows you to do what you feel is necessary to leave the encounter unscathed.
Good news though, Florida is considering the return of a bear hunt to cull the population. FWC has already had three virtual public feedback meetings in April for the proposed return of bear hunting in Florida. The draft of the proposal will be presented to commissioners and will be ready for public review by Wednesday, May 7. The results of that meeting will be available here in this column next week. It’s too late to help this most recent victim from an overdose of bear. But, with any luck, it will help to ensure no future loss of life and a decline in negative human/bear encounters overall.
Any questions or comments on this topic, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected]. God Bless, and good hunting!
