In Sanford, a city located in central Florida, a woman encountered a black bear while walking her dog on April 25th. Fortunately, she quickly had a clever idea, threw a pack of cookies to the bear, and took the chance to run back home.
According to WKMG TV station, the woman named Kristen Savage was out for a walk with her beloved dog Ringo, a 13-pound Chihuahua mix.
Savage came across a female black bear with cubs near her home. The mother bear approached, attempting to catch Ringo. Savage lifted Ringo and spun in circles to prevent the bear from grabbing him, but she accidentally fell during the process, injuring her leg.
Savage mentioned that the whole ordeal lasted only a few minutes. After tossing the pack of cookies to the mother bear in an attempt to scare it away, she rushed back home with Ringo in her arms. The incident was captured by her home’s surveillance camera. The neighbor’s camera also recorded the mother bear eventually leaving the scene.
She recalled that her mother had just given her a pack of cookies to give to her kids. She suddenly remembered the cookies in her hand, used them to hit the mother bear’s face hard, then threw the pack out. When the mother bear approached and sniffed the cookies, she took the opportunity to dash towards the door.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission received reports of a mother bear with cubs in the area. They coordinated patrols in the region to identify and eliminate items that could attract bears to prevent future conflicts.
Despite the encounter, Savage doesn’t blame the bear. “I won’t blame that bear. I am sure it was just as scared as I was. As a mother, I would do everything to protect my child, and I believe it would do the same.”
Living near the woods, Savage often spots bears. Once, a bear even showed up at her door.
From now on, she plans to always carry items like an air horn or whistle that can scare off bears.