'I Was Attacked By A Bear': FL Man Fights Off Bear To Save Dogs

DAYTONA BEACH, FL — A Florida man recently proved he'll go to great lengths to protect his dogs, including fighting off a bear.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Daytona Beach man encountered a black bear while letting his dogs out on his porch Jan. 19 around 7:30 p.m. The entire incident was caught on camera.

In the video, the bear can be seen making its way onto the man's porch. Thinking the animal was another dog and not a bear, wildlife officials said, the man moved toward it to protect his dogs, and the bear reacted.

"Oh, my God! I was attacked by a bear," the man says in the video.

The man was able to get the bear to leave by making loud noises and quickly moving a bench in front of his porch door.

Fortunately, the man’s injuries were not life-threatening, and his dogs were not injured, wildlife officials said.

Video of Florida bear attack:

After the attack, wildlife officials canvassed the neighborhood to make sure residents were aware of the incident and provided tips on avoiding conflicts with bears.

This is the second incident in a week of a bear injuring a person, wildlife officials confirmed. While bear encounters remain extremely rare in Florida, wildlife officials offer these safety tips should anyone ever come face to face with one:

• Don’t run; running may trigger a chase response. Back away slowly in the opposite direction and wait for the bear to leave.
• From a safe distance, make loud noises to scare away the bear.
• Give the bear a clear escape route — do not corner it.
• If the bear makes contact with you, fight back aggressively.
• If your dog and a bear make contact, make noise and use bear spray or a water hose to try and break them up.

The FWC said it receives up to 6,000 bear-related calls a year and has documented only 15 incidents of people being moderately to seriously injured by bears in more than 50 years.

Florida residents should contact the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) if threatened by a bear; observe a sick, injured, dead or orphaned bear; or to report someone who is either harming bears or intentionally feeding them.

To learn more about bears and how to avoid conflicts with them, visit MyFWC.com/Bear or BearWise.org.