Bear attack in Eastpoint

[fireant21]

http://www.apalachtimes.com/news/local- ... 6278?tc=cr

[2true]

I was going to post on that!


Panhandle Teen Mauled in Bear Attack
Posted: Mon 10:28 AM, Dec 22, 2014
By: Associated Press / FWC Email

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A 15-year-old Panhandle girl is recovering in a hospital after being attacked by a bear.

News Release: Associated Press / FWC
December 22, 2014

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) -- A 15-year-old Panhandle girl is recovering in a hospital after being attacked by a bear.

Sherry Mann told Panama City television station WMBB that her daughter sustained significant injuries to her legs, back, neck and face.

Mann says the attack happened when the girl was walking her dog behind a supermarket in Eastpoint, which is east of Panama City in Franklin County. She says the bear released the girl after the dog lunged at it.

The girl was transported to Bay Medical Center Sacred Heart Health System in Panama City.

Leah Reeder is expected to undergo surgery. Her mother says the most significant injuries are to her face.

FWC law enforcement officers and biologists immediately responded to the scene and have initiated trapping and removal efforts.

It was the third bear attack in the region this year.

[bman]

Its cool to see them and great that the population is coming back but its time to thin out the bears in populated areas... they need to treat them like nuisance alligators.
If a girl can get attacked when walking her dog behind a supermarket they are too thick and too comfortable here.

[KYFRED]

I don't disagree. There was a bear killed earlier this year coming off the bridge to SGI and there is another that frequents the dumpster at the red pirate.

[big bend gyrene]

Have "one" this year I'd been capturing on game camera about once a month... that is until this month, when the camera told me a different story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BIjeIzGy4c[/video]

[big bend gyrene]

Before checking the game card, actually had gotten out of a nearby deer stand after sitting all morning only to find MULTIPLE piles of bear poop near one another. Not the most comforting feeling in the world. Only about 250 yards from my back porch.

[2true]

More on the story including her name:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... uries.html

[spothogg]

Think we'll ever see a bear season in this state?

[bman]

A bear season has been discussed by FWC staff- read the faqs on bears and you can see they are open to it.
http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/manag ... ting-faqs/

[MudDucker]

The behind the grocery store may be a key to the problem. Most bear attacks happen where bears have gotten used to feeding around humans. They are lazy creatures and they love dumpster diving. I suspect this bear was dumpster diving at the grocery store and she got between it and the dumpster. Most of North Carolina now uses secure dumpsters and trash cans to discourage this behavior.

My prayers for her recovery.

[MudDucker]

.

[FUTCHCAIRO]

I HAVE SEEN SIGNS OF BEARS IN OUR BACK WOODS, A FRIEND OF MINE HAS TAKEN PICTURES OF ONE CLOSE TO HIS HOUSE.'
PA
SEMPER FI

[flogator]

don't know about the bear problem in Northwest Fl, but in Northeast Fl they are a real issue. Bears are one of the smartest animals in the woods. The state keeps trapping and relocating them which moves the problem from one area to another. There are entirely too many bears in Fl. as witnessed by garbage can episodes, bird feeders, etc. Years ago when we had 'wild' bears they would avoid humans. A real issue for hunters is getting between a sow and her cubs when exiting a hunting area. FWC needs to create a hunting season and thin the population

[DEMON]

FWC had it right years ago when there was a bear season that was limited to certain high population areas (Apalachicola NF, Ocala NF, Baker county). In the years since the elimination of the bear season these areas have seen big increases in the bear population & the overflow has moved to areas populated by humans bordering these areas (Eastpoint, Carabelle, Wakulla county, etc.). There are probably more bears killed by automobiles & FWC as nuisances per year now than were killed by hunters back when there was a season. I've dog hunted the Apalachicola NF for 30 yrs now and remember the bear hunts way back when. The bears were controlled then & we had little trouble with them. We now see bears just about every weekend we hunt and over the last couple of years have had a couple of dogs mauled & one dog killed. Although I have never bear hunted I say bring back a limited bear season & let hunters do what they do which is control the population to a more reasonable level.

[2true]

don't know about the bear problem in Northwest Fl, but in Northeast Fl they are a real issue. Bears are one of the smartest animals in the woods. The state keeps trapping and relocating them which moves the problem from one area to another. There are entirely too many bears in Fl. as witnessed by garbage can episodes, bird feeders, etc. Years ago when we had 'wild' bears they would avoid humans. A real issue for hunters is getting between a sow and her cubs when exiting a hunting area. FWC needs to create a hunting season and thin the population

They are good at tearing down my buddies corn feeders too (For Deer)