Aydee Was Attacked By This Bear In The Driveway Of Her Florida Home

Welcome back to scary bear attacks!
When you think of Florida, you probably think of palm trees, sandy beaches, alligators and sunshine. Many people from all over the world travel to its relaxing and warm environment to escape colder, more stressful locations. Perhaps you will rethink your opinions and vacation destinations after this report.
Florida is home to its own unique subspecies of black bear known as Ursus americanus floridanus. The subspecies is remarkably robust with an estimated population of just over 4,000 bears statewide.
Today’s episode takes us to the central Florida town of Debary just north of the entertainment mecca of Orlando. On January 13th of 2022 just after 8 PM. Austin Kennedy was outside enjoying the fresh air when a black bear was observed walking through the area. Not a common site in the area, this drew the attention of the neighbors as they walked through the area. The female black bear and her 3 one hundred pound cubs retreated up a nearby tree for protection.
Neighbors, Mike and Jenny were walking down the sidewalk, the mother bear shimmied down the tree and began aggressively approaching the couple. They began yelling and waving their arms to scare her off and it seemed to work. They held their ground and kept their eyes focused on the irate momma bear.
It was at that pivotal moment that Aydee exited her home across the street from the confrontation to take her dog for a walk down Madera Street. The momma bear immediately redirected her attention to Aydee and her now barking canine.
At the sight of the aggravated bear, Aydee turned and ran away as fast as she could, a potentially deadly mistake. The sow quickly overtook her and lept onto her back slamming Aydee’s head against the ground nearly causing her to lose consciousness. The bear began clawing her lower back and head, as well as biting her lower back during the attack. The attack was over nearly as suddenly as it began, as neighbors, alerted by Aydee’s screams, converged to frighten the bear off. The bear, and her cubs disappeared into the twilight leaving Aydee, and her dog, confused and terrified. Aydee’s dog disappeared into the night as well.
Volusia County Sheriff's deputies were contacted and quickly responded to the incident. After a brief interview with Aydee, the sow and her three cubs were observed hiding in the canopy of a nearby pine tree.
Animal control officers used a tranquilizer gun to sedate the sow. The sow was euthanized per Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission policy, based on her lack of fear of people. The three cubs were deemed able to survive on their own and were permitted to flee the area without being euthanized, over the objections of Aydee.
Aydee expressed gratitude for receiving relatively minor injuries and that her dog was not injured during the confrontation. This is the 14th recorded bear attack in Florida since records began in 1976.
Black bears were removed from the threatened species list in Florida in 2012 and now can be found over much of the state.
Some names of the people involved in this video have been changed to protect their privacy. The top link in the resource article of this video links to the actual 911 call from a concerned neighbor. The link to the FWC below also provides human bear incidents on a map of the area.

https://www.newsweek.com/florida-woman-attacked-bear-lucky-alive-1669930

https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/mammals/land/black-bear/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/01/20/bear-attack-florida-woman/

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/01/14/woman-attacked-by-bear-while-walking-her-dog-in-debary/

https://www.fox19.com/2022/01/16/fla-woman-attacked-by-bear-while-walking-dogs/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/01/19/florida-woman-jumped-bear-walking-dog/6576773001/

https://www.newsweek.com/florida-woman-attacked-bear-lucky-alive-1669930