On January 13th, north of Orlando in DeBary, a woman was walking her dogs before being attacked by a mother black bear. Volusia County Sheriff’s Officers responded to the incident, which took place around 9pm, finding the large female bear in a tree with her three cubs. Biologists from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commision (FWC) arrived on the scene and tranquilized the mother bear.

It was determined that the bear would be humanely euthanized because it attacked the lady in her own driveway and posed a threat to public safety. The FWC said, “The three-100-pound yearlings are old enough to survive on their own and so no attempt was made to capture them.”

“I’m an animal lover too, but those are not my friends. She was trespassing at my house. I was not in her territory. Two more years and we will be in the same boat.” The woman says this while explaining that she wished the cubs were relocated.

She identified herself as Aydee and escaped the attack with scratches on her face and lower back as well as a concussion. Thankfully, the injuries weren’t life-threatening.

One of Aydee’s neighbors, Awston Kennedy, said the bear had been spotted before it attacked her. Some people tried to scare it away, when it actually went in the direction of Aydee and her dogs. An eyewitness stated, “I heard her screaming from down the road. It was awful.”

While describing the incident to officers, Aydee said, “He [was] kind of like jumping me when I was running, he jumped me and threw me on the floor.” After coming across the startled bear, she was scratched on her face and turned to run while calling out for help.

A bear attack in Florida is very rare. The FWC began keeping records in 1976, and since then, this is the 14th documented attack that caused moderate to serious injuries by Florida black bears.