"We decided to follow the course of an abundance
of caution and put the bear down," said Nick Wiley, executive
director of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.
"Public safety is a top priority," Wiley said in a statement
Thursday.
Susan Chalfant, 54, was injured by a bear while out walking her
two small dogs Monday evening in Longwood, a leafy residential
area about 15 miles north of Orlando.
Neighbors described her as bleeding profusely from the head
after the attack and she was hospitalized at the Orlando
Regional Medical Center for what officials described as
non-life-threatening injuries. The hospital declined to release
an update on Chalfant's condition Thursday.
Wildlife officers had placed three traps, baited with glazed
doughnuts, on a natural bear trail that runs alongside Longwood
in the immediate aftermath of Monday's rare attack.
A female yearling captured Tuesday night was removed to a
rehabilitation center in Crystal River, wildlife officers said.
A second bear, caught Wednesday night, closely matched the
description of the one that attacked Chalfant and was quickly
euthanized, according to Karen Parker, a wildlife commission
spokeswoman.
Parker said trapping would continue in the Longwood area due to
public safety concerns. But she added that bears are
particularly apt to forage in neighborhoods during the fall,
when they are trying to fatten up for the winter.
Complaints about Florida black bears have more than quadrupled
over the past decade, reaching 6,159 in 2012 alone, according to
statistics maintained by the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Commission.
The problem has grown as urban and suburban sprawl brought more
people into former wilderness areas where housing developments
fractured bear habitat and left homeowners near bear trails.
Less than 1 percent of bear complaints involve a person
threatened by a bear. Rarely is anyone injured.
(Editing by Tom Brown and Alden Bentley)
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