In the U.S., especially in Florida, it is not a unique site to see bears roaming the streets from time to time. For years, human beings encroach on bear habitat, but news broke recently broke out when bears are encroaching more and more on humans.
Last week, on December 2, Susan Chalfant, 54, a resident of Wingfield North near Wekiwa Springs State Park was mauled by a bear. Chalfant was walking her two small dogs in English Ivy Court when a bear attacked her. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission called the incident "the most serious documented bear attack in Florida history."
Residents of neighborhoods where bears are more often seen to roam have expressed concern and frustration since the bear attack of Chalfant. The resident's frequent encounter with bears lead them to question whether the state agency is doing enough to protect them.
"It's not a case of humans encroaching on bears anymore," Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, told MSN News. "It's now a case of bears encroaching on humans."
Simmons also expressed concern because the neighborhoods where human-bear conflicts are long-time established residential communities. His district includes the area where the most complaints on bears in Florida come from.
"It all connects back to bears seeing people as a source of food," Nick Wiley, executive director of FWC said in an interview. "They love an easy meal.
"We are very aggressive, honestly, in euthanizing a bear. If it's lost its fear of people, not showing avoidance behavior, we're going to have to take it. We don't like doing that, but human safety comes first. People come first," Wiley added.
In the wake of the attack, the agency plans to hire more wildlife contractors to trap and relocate bears or catch and kill them. The state has contracts with 15 trappers in Florida, including just four in the northeast region, which includes Seminole, Orange, Lake and Volusia counties.
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
