WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — Some Winter Garden residents were startled awake Friday morning when the steel door of a bear trap slammed shut.
When they went to see what happened, residents found a bear in the heavy green trap.
The bear was trapped in the 1400 block of Kenny Court, less than a half-mile from Maxey Elementary School.
“We heard a loud noise, and then we looked outside and heard some more ruckus and then all of a sudden we see a big bear,” said resident Miguel Cisneros.
Winter Garden residents had expressed worry this week after a bear was sighted in their neighborhood.
“We are kind of scared at first because we never know how wild these bears are,” Cisneros said.
Resident Rosa Stewart has lived in the same Winter Garden neighborhood for 45 years and said she had never seen a bear until now.
“I saw him back here in the back of my neighbor’s yard where he was eating fruit,” she said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said the female bear was removed and is in the process of being relocated to Ocala National Forest.
“There is a lot of kids. I've seen a lot of kids that walk around, they are like 5-year-olds, and I’m sure they will be terrified if they see a bear like that,” Cisneros said. "I've been here for 30 years and this is the first bear I have seen in my life."
A trapper told Channel 9 the bear was just a cub, and now residents worry the mother bear may also be in the wooded area behind their homes.
“I am happy that they caught that one and I hope they are bringing another trapper out soon,” said resident Jamie Morss.
Officials have not said whether another trap will be set.
Wildlife officials said that while this year they have received 166 bear related calls in Orange County, only 10 of them were in Winter Garden.
According to biologist with FWC, at times the bears travel following railroad tracks because it's a clear path and that is what might have brought the cub to the neighborhood.
Cox Media Group
