Several people have spotted one or more black bears roaming around Green Cove Springs in the past two days.
The first bear sighting was in a Green Cove Springs backyard at around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Green Cove Springs Police Department shared a video on Facebook of the bear grabbing a hanging plant then running off into the woods.
“He just ate all that food out of that bird feeder in this backyard right here,” said Mary Manges, who lives in the neighborhood.
A few hours later, Manges said she came face to face with what she believes was the same bear.
She said she was getting out of her car when the bear busted through her back fence and ran through her yard.
“He was literally four feet from my face when I got out of my car,” Manges said. “It was crazy.”
The bear sighting comes as Florida wildlife officials are considering another bear hunt.
The NRA is pushing for another hunt to keep bear populations in check.
Last year, more than 300 bears, including 36 lactating mothers, were killed in two days.
Adam Sugalski, campaign director for Stop the Florida Bear Hunt, said a petition against another hunt already has 127,000 signatures and worries that sightings like these fuel the fire behind the argument.
"But we need to look at the big picture, we're burning the forest in controlled burns, we're developing all over their land and the people in those areas are not being responsible, so it's our problem we have created," Sugalski said.
Neighbors said they were startled by the bear sightings but they are hoping it doesn't meet the same fate.
“He was probably just as scared as I was,” said Manges. “He's trying to find somewhere to go. There's so much development going on. We're encroaching on their habitat.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is having a meeting at the end of the month and the bear hunt is on their agenda. Sugalski said he plans to be there to speak out against it.
FWC said it just concluded a series of bear management webinars on Thursday night to hear the public's thoughts about bear population management.
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