Posted on 02/12/2018 11:16:03 AM PST by w1n1
A Florida man Andy Meunier was taking his dog out for a walk when a bear attacked him. It was a short while after leaving his Naples home when he turned to see a black bear staring at him. Without warning, the bear attacked.
Neunier recalls, Everything went in slow motion, Everything went in slow motion. It was just as scary as you can imagine, Meunier told ABC affiliate WZVN. It was standing in front of me and I tried to turn left real quick and get back in the house, and caught an uppercut from a brown, or a black, bear.
Though the bear knocked him down, he managed to get out of there safely but with a gashed across his head that required 41 stitches.
Meunier stated he is no stranger to bears as he had seen them in his neighborhood before.
Officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission stated this is the first recorded instance of a bear attacking a person in South Florida. All 15 other recorded instances occurred in the panhandle or in central Florida.
At this point Florida residents do not need to carry bear-defense guns but here are some pointers that residents can follow in case of an encounter:
Remain standing upright
-Speak to the bear in a calm, assertive voice
-Back up slowly toward a secure area, be sure you are leaving the bear a clear escape route
-Avoid direct eye contactbears and other animals may view this as aggressive behavior. Read and see the rest of the video footage of bear attacks Florida man here.
https://www.floridastateparks.org/park-activities/lower-wekiva-river#Wildlife-Viewing
(Excerpt)
Lower Wekiva River - Wildlife Viewing
The Florida black bear, river otter, American alligator, sandhill crane, indigo snake and a variety of more common native species may be observed while horse-back riding, hiking, bicycling or canoeing through the Preserve.
The dog probably bolted. I love dogs, and my lab is like another kid. That said, if a bear met up with us while hiking, Daisy would probably bark a big storm up and then run like hell, leaving her master to fight alone.
Longwood, Florida has been overrun with black bears getting into garbage cans. They are getting bear proof containers to cope. When the bears see a dog they get agitated and have attacked. The surrounding areas also have bear encounters from time to time.
“Wonder what happened to his dog.”
I assume the dog just demonstrated that he can outrun his owner.
I was sleeping on the ground in Yosemite when I woke up to a cub swatting my head. I just crawled as deep in the bag as I could and played dead. No problemo from the cub or his mama.
Black Bears Matter.
Florida - if it’s not swampy enough for the gators to get you, then you have to watch for bears? No, thank you.
maybe he had one but never had a chance to use it, as in the bear got the drop on him
If you can’t carry a gun, carry a picnic basket you can leave behind as you run for your life....
Bears and cats in swamps? Never done seen nothin’ like that nohow...
It's still afraid to return home........
“Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission stated this is the first recorded instance of a bear attacking a person in South Florida.”
Wow, I had no idea they had such perfect knowledge of what’s happened for thousands and thousands of years
Swamp bears? Surfer bears? I’ve never been to Florida so all I know is about the alligators.
My retirement home and property are in the north woods of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. As a kid I used to play all day in those woods and there was nothing there that could threaten me. Now there are Cougars and Black Bear up there and I saw both the last time I was up there while I was out on my range shooting.
Don’t laugh but I just bought a 10mm pistol to replace my Smith Model 29 (44 Mag revolver) and will be purchasing the new Hi-Point 10mm Carbine and will carry both whenever I am out on my property or anywhere else in the woods.
I wrote “don’t laugh” because of the Hi-Point, but it has a great price point and so far the write ups are good. I won a Hi-Point 40 S&W Carbine in a raffle last year and it has been very reliable so I will try the 10mm version.
There are other 10mm Carbines on the market but they are selling for more than I want to spend.
I won’t laugh.
Better to have a Hi-Point and need it than to NOT have anything in the same situation.
I once had a gun-shop guy give me the “holier than though” sigh and look at a Taurus I was buying. Up his.
Heck The Michigan DNR refused to acknowledge the presence o cougars and wolverines in Michigan for most of my life, even with photographic evidence. Finally, several years ago, they admitted to the presence of both species.
Late one night back in 1975 my cousin, my best friend, and I were chased on our bikes by a wolverine on a paved road outside our village. We decided to tell no one as everybody said wolverines did not exist in Michigan and would have laughed at us. We were smart enough to know what the heck a wolverine looked like and that thing was not happy we were out there at night.
The old saying...I don’t have to outrun the bear,just you...
Speak in a clear assertive voice
Because you don’t want the bear to mis-interpret your words
Did you go into the house for an underwear change? LOL...glad you and all your extremities are still with us!
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