A woman was attacked by a bear outside her Florida home: ‘I feel lucky to be alive’
A Florida woman lived to tell the story of being attacked by a bear in front of her home last week.
According to an incident report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a woman only identified as Aydee was attacked while walking her two dogs Thursday night in DeBary, north of Orlando.
Deputies from the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office responded to her call at around 9 p.m. She was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A female Florida black bear who had yearlings was discovered in a tree nearby.
“FWC bear biologists darted the adult bear in the tree and humanely killed it per the FWC policy to protect public safety,” the commission said in its statement. “The three 100-pound yearlings are old enough to survive on their own and so no attempt was made to capture them.”
Aydee later told WESH.com that the animal chased and tackled her on her driveway just as she was coming home from the walk with her pets.
“She was running behind me and she grabbed me by my shoulders and I fell to the ground,” Aydee (who did not wish to use her last name) told the media outlet.
TV footage shows her head with bloody scratches; the dogs were uninjured.
“The worst [experience] of my life,” she added. “I never experienced this before. Like, you go through things in life but this is the worst. No. 1, I would say. ... I feel lucky to be alive.”
If you see a bear in a public place, call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922.
