DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is searching for a black bear that attacked a man at a Daytona Beach home.
FWC responded to the report of the attack on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., according to a news release.
The man was hurt while defending his dogs from the bruin but is expected to be OK, FWC said. He didn’t ask for medical attention when he and his partner called 911, saying he only sustained claw marks to his body. The dogs were not hurt.
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“I was just attacked by a bear,” the caller said in a 911 call released Friday. “Who do I get a hold of to get this thing removed?”
FWC bear biologists and law enforcement officers searched for the bear after the attack but could not locate the animal, according to the release. FWC said the bear will be humanely killed if captured because it poses a threat to humans.
Elliot Michael, a neighbor, said it wasn’t surprising to see the bears because they’re around often.
“Looked like a mom protecting one of her cubs. Cubs rifle through the garbage, they went away. Mama bear went back, then the dogs start barking,” he said.
He said the man is a little roughed up and “seems to be doing all right.”
“I don’t know if I would have done the same in his position, but you got to do what you got to do,” Michael said.
This is the second bear attack in Volusia County in less than a week. A woman walking her dog in DeBary was mauled and injured on Jan. 13 by a black bear, which was then killed by Florida wildlife officials.
The woman, whose first name is Aydee, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including scratches on her face, hands and back, and called 911 to report the attack, wildlife officials said. Her dog was not harmed.
Despite the two attacks happening in relatively close succession, FWC said these sorts of attacks are rare in Florida.
“The FWC receives up to 6,000 bear-related calls a year and have documented only 15 incidents of people being moderately to seriously injured by bears in more than 50 years,” the agency said in a release.
FWC recommends people remove or secure all food attractants from around their homes — including birdseed, pet food and garbage. The agency also recommends banging on your door and flashing outdoor lights on and off to scare off any bears before allowing your animals outside.
For more tips on avoiding interactions with bears, click here.
You can listen to the 911 call made in reference to Wednesday’s attack in the media player below: