Kristen Savage says she was walking her dog Friday night when she encountered a black bear.
Savage, who lives in the Markham Woods neighbourhood, told News 6 about the close encounter. She was halfway back home when the bear approached her.
“I heard a bird. I was looking for a bird in a tree, and then I saw a black thing come at my leg,” said Savage. “I thought it was an off-leash dog at first, and then I realized it was a giant head.”
According to Savage, the bear went after her 13-pound chihuahua mix, Ringo.
“I just pulled him away and eventually I had him hanging in the air, dangling around,” said Savage. “I had him up in the air like this and she would chase him, and I was spinning in a circle. I spun around so many times I fell, and that’s when I got my leg cut up pretty good.”
Savage showed News 6 the abrasions on her legs, which are still healing many days later. She expressed relief that Ringo was fine.
The entire experience ended within a few minutes when Savage stated that she threw a bag of cookies she was holding in an attempt to scare the bear away.
“My mom, she lives just down the street, and she had just stopped and handed me a bag of cookies for my kids. When I remembered I had them in my hand I took the bag and I whacked the bear across the face with it, and then I threw it,” said Savage. “She came forward and then she sniffed and she put her head down and sniffed the cookies and we ran to the front door.”
Savage’s doorbell security camera filmed the moment she fled, and Ringo went inside for safety. Her next-door neighbor’s cameras captured the bear wandering away shortly afterward.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was dispatched to the neighborhood and confirmed to News 6 that they had received a complaint of a bear and its cubs nearby. They departed the area and have not been reported to wildlife officials since.
According to an FWC representative, the agency has conducted coordinated patrols in the region to identify potential attractants that may be secured or removed to assist prevent future incidents.
