Bear spotted in Homestead. Here's what to do if you encounter one
MIAMI - Now there's something you don't see every day, a bear meandering around neighborhoods in Homestead.
A Ring camera spotted the bear walking around the Isle of Oasis area, near the Campbell Drive exit off the Florida Turnpike, not far from a wooded area.
There were numerous other sightings of the bear.
Cellphone video captured it in the area of SW 147th Avenue and Pacific Drive around Thursday around 10 p.m.
Barry Clark told CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench that he captured video of the bear while sitting in his car.
"My cousin said there was a bear and I didn't believe him and then I took my camera out and you the bear walking around my car. I was wondering how he got into this neighborhood. He had to cross roads. I wondered if someone had him as a pet. I was scared and worried about myself or the kids here if we were taking out the garbage," said Clark.
James Ewing, 11, said, "When I saw it on the video, it scared me. This was the first time I saw something like this in Florida." And 9-year-old TJ Scott said "I never saw a bear like that. I was surprised he got in her."
Homestead police captain Fernando Morales said he's not seen anything like this in the last 25 years.
Morales said, "It's pretty scary when you have small pets and children playing. But so far the bear hasn't exhibited any violent tendencies. Up to now, it has run away from residents and from police, possibly because it was scared. But we urge residents not to approach it or try to capture it. Instead, call Homestead police right away."
Homestead's Animal Control and Florida Fish and Wildlife were notified about the bear which is still on the loose. The last siting was by a canal and a wooded area at the Campbell Drive exit from the Florida Turnpike. Police said the bear was seen at Baptist Health Homestead Hospital and then went south across Campbell Drive and through a wooded area and swam across the canal to the Isles of Oasis community,
According to the FWC, black bears can be found almost anywhere in Florida, they prefer a mixture of flatwoods, swamps, scrub oak ridges, bayheads, and hammock habitats. The area they roam in search of food, water, and adequate cover is called a home range.
They are more commonly found in the central and southwest portions of the state. They are rarely spotted in South Florida.
Ron Magill of Zoo Miami said, "There are about 3,000 black bears in the state but it is not common to see them this far south. This may be something that is more frequent as time goes by. This could have been a small male forced out by a dominant male and is just looking for a food place or place to relax away from the stress. The Florida black bear is really one of the smallest bears in the country. It is the least aggressive of any bear. It is not an aggressive animal and not the type of animal that comes charging at a human being."
Magill said, "If you see this bear do not turn your back and run. Put your hands up high and make yourself look as firm as possible and say hey bear, hey bear. It is likely the bear will go another way. They are not grizzly bears. They are not like brown bears. They feed primarily on fruits and vegetables and seeds and flowers and take rodents and small things. It's likely the bear was looking for free food and garbage cans and pet food left out. If for whatever reason, this black bear comes at you, fight back, fight back. Punch it and scream and kick and do whatever you can. There is an old saying, if there is black fight back. If the bear is brown, lie down."
Morales urges anyone who sees it to not approach it, instead, contact the police department at (305) 247-1535.
