Talk of The Villages Florida - Black Bear Sighting

Quote:

Originally Posted by FredMitchell (Post 2344850)

If you live in the area, don't leave your vehicles outside. If that is not an option, do not leave food or anything that might smell like food, e.g. empty bag of french fries or burger from fast food.

They are very adept at just opening the doors. Even locking your car may not be enough. A large bear can break in by pulling down on the top of the door until the window breaks. If they decide to enter, there is a decent chance that there will be significant damage to the interior.

I've seen videos of bears that got into homes. I believe it was in PA. Can you imagine walking into your kitchen and seeing a bear?

I used to volunteer at an animal shelter that was set on 5 acres. There were a lot of woods around the building, and walking paths for potential adopters to walk a dog they were interested in adopting. There was a small building outside of the main building that was used to store pet food and treats only. One morning the lady who ran the place showed us the marks a black bear had left as he or she was looking around the building where the food was stored. The door wasn't open to the building but the marks left on the ground, and cement around the building were enough for me to realize how big that bear was.

One day I was out in the yard with one of the dogs and looked up to see one of the employees walk out of the main building and quickly turned around and close the door. I had a feeling she saw the bear. She did and said that the bear saw her it ran away in the other direction. The view I had didn't let me see the bear because the little building was in the way.