SANFORD, Fla. — Black bear sightings are still a problem in Sanford’s Bookertown neighborhood, according to the people living there.
They sent WFTV videos of three bears walking down a yard between two houses, a bear trying to get into a trash can, and several pictures of bears throughout the neighborhood.
Some say bears have even popped out of the woods on them while checking their mailboxes.
“Man, they need to get these bears from out of here,” said Annie Pearl Felton.
Felton said she nearly broke her foot running from a bear that was coming towards her while she was doing yardwork a few months ago.
She said the bears are the reason she no longer has a fence up, and she purchased bear proof trash cans.
“I don’t even put my garbage out till garbage day,” she said.
The president of the Bookertown Improvement Association, Reginald Campbell, said there haven’t been any reports of bears attacking people yet.
“We’re trying to get in front of it to avoid someone from getting hurt,” he said.
He said something needs to be done. He would like to get some of the trees near the mailboxes cut down so people can see if a bear is coming while out there.
“I can see it being a potential problem,” he said. “Some of these bears have cubs. We’ve seen the cubs with their mothers. They’re going to protect the cubs.”
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson said their bear management programs were informed of the problem back in May. They set a trap but didn’t catch any bears at the time.
The spokesperson said they hadn’t received any recent reports of bear activity or sightings until the media reached out to them Friday.
“Bear management will be canvassing the area to provide further guidance to residents,” FWC said in a statement.
Here’s more information from FWC: “The FWC responds to human-bear conflicts based on the specific circumstances of each situation. When bears are observed in neighborhoods, they are either passing through to get from one forested area to another or locating easily accessible food sources like unsecured garbage, pet food or bird seed. In situations where bears are attracted to food sources, relocating the bear will not resolve the conflict because another bear (and/or other wildlife) will likely be attracted to those same food sources. Instead, we work with the residents to help them secure items that attract bears. The FWC will attempt to capture and humanely kill any bear that shows signs it may be a risk to public safety.
“If people feel threatened by a bear, spot an injured, orphaned or dead bear, or to report someone harming or intentionally feeding bears, we ask that they please call the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922). The FWC encourages residents to contact their Regional Office Contacts | FWC to speak with staff about specifics of their situations to help resolve any conflicts."
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