ORANGE CITY, Fla. – A man was bitten by a bear cub last month in Orange City while trying to separate the animal and his dog, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The incident happened on Dec. 20 after the man let his dog outside, the FWC said.
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The dog’s owner, Blake Sprout, told News 6 that he was letting his Pomeranian, Karen, out in the family’s backyard when she ran up to the bears.
“As soon as I opened the door, there were three bears here and before I could stop my dogs, they just ran out to the bears and one of the bears attacked my dog,” said Sprout.
Sprout said he tried to separate Karen from the bear.
“It dropped my dog and then attacked me and bit me in my stomach,” said Sprout.
Though the FWC said the bear was technically a cub, Sprout said it wasn’t a very young cub and was about waist tall. He said it grabbed the dog and dragged it across the street, so he followed and tried to startle it by throwing rocks near it. Sprout said eventually, the bear dropped the dog.
“I couldn’t let her die. She was screaming in pain, and we love our pets,” said Sprout.
Karen has a few stitches now. Sprout said he has swelling and bruising in his stomach.
“I had to get a bunch of rabies shots just to be safe. It’s pretty swollen but I should be alright,” he said.
The FWC said the cub’s mother and two other cub bears were nearby but were not involved in the incident.
After setting traps, the bear family group was captured and relocated, FWC said.
To help reduce interactions with bears, the FWC said residents should bring in or secure food attractants, like garbage, pet food or bird seed.
Anyone who would like to report someone harming bears or feeding them or a bear sighting is asked to call the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
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