Florida - Big Cypress

[joey46]

Within in the last 24 hours a man and his dog were killed by black bear(s) on the border of Big Cypress.  As of this minute FWC has killed two bears in this area.  Nothing to joke about but as many know Big Cypress can be an exciting area.  Pythons, alligators, panthers, and now bears.  Adds a layer of concern when searching for that Osceola.

[Tail Feathers]

Some years back, I hunted a WMA where everyone warned me about bears.  The employee there had a pic of a 600+ bear they had trapped near there.  It was frequenting a high end neighborhood of million dollar homes she said.  They killed the bear after trapping and she talked FWC into mounting it.  It should be on display at their HQ now. 

[Ihuntoldschool]

Sounds like a mother and couple cubs.

As I read the reports they're saying 3 bears were seen and man and dog were killed at separate times?

Gets more bizarre the more you read about it.

[CALLM2U]

I had one at 15 yards from me last weekend.  Didn't seem to care too much about me, but I was none-too-pleased when I got back to my truck to find that he had crawled all over it.  Luckily the only damage was a bent antenna. 

All of the ones I've encountered were way more scared of me.  But they are all back in the mountains where they are not used to seeing people. 

[Ihuntoldschool]

See we are getting conflicting reports.

The report I read said dog ran out the house growled, ran back inside and homeowner then stepped out and allegedly got attacked.

Not sure about cubs nearly grown. I ran up on a couple in a den one time mid April, they were barely bigger than a raccoon.

[WLT III]

Unfortunate, but there has been bears in The Cypress forever. Time to have another hunt, and they will because of this.

[Ihuntoldschool]

Probably garbage outside or bird feeder or they've been feeding them, something drew them to that man's house

[silvestris]

People and tied up pets don't mix well with wildlife.  It is just another cross to bear.

[Tom007]

In my deer hunting area I see bears almost every time I hunt. This year, 9 together was the most. They are not interested in humans in the Fall. I walk by them all the time. A moms in spring with cubs could be dangerous, but I avoid them and really do not worry about them. Just my experiences over the years...

[g8rvet]

I did some research on Florida bear attacks and it was interesting to note that a high percentage of them involved a dog with the human. 

My brother's dog this year got caught by a sow bear in his back yard. He had his 10mm in hand and was getting ready to squeeze and the bear veered off.  She took a lot of sutures, but she is fine.