Florida is well-known for its beautiful beaches and sandy coastline.
But the Sunshine State is also home to massive swampland.
And this Florida man’s brave fight with a bear prevented a Christmas tragedy for his children.
Beaches, Disney World, and alligators are three of the most common things that come to mind when most folks think of Florida.
But Florida is also home to a decent sized population of black bears.
There are over 4,000 bears in the Sunshine State.
And they have become a problem to residents in recent years, which led Ron DeSantis to sign a bill into law making it legal to kill a bear in self-defense.
The number of bear related calls in Florida has increased nearly 700% in the past 10 years.
But one Florida man had more than a slight run-in with a bear around Christmas.
According to Blake Sprout of Orange City, “I was just letting my dogs out to go to the bathroom, and as soon as I opened the door, there were three bears here,” he said. “And before I could stop my dogs, they just ran out to the bears.”
The bear attacked the dogs and grabbed his pomeranian Karen with its mouth.
That is when he made the decision to run up and kick the bear directly in the chest with as much force as he could muster.
The kick made the bear drop the dog from its mouth.
However, it then attacked Sprout.
“It dropped my dog and then attacked me and bit me in my stomach,” he said.
But the bear then grabbed the dog with its mouth and started running off with it.
Sprout grabbed a handful of rocks and was able to get the bear to drop the dog and leave the area.
“I picked up a couple of rocks just to throw in its direction and try to scare it away, and I guess that worked,” Blake said.
Both the dog and Sprout survived the incident.
“I did have to get a bunch of rabies shots just to be safe,” he said. “It’s pretty swollen, but it should be all right.”
Since he views the dog as a “part of the family,” Sprout said he had no choice but to jump into the fight.
“I couldn’t let [Karen] die,” he said. “She was screaming in pain,” he continued, before adding that “my kids love her.”
The attack occurred just before Christmas on the 20th of December.
Sprout said, “I couldn’t just tell them at Christmas, ‘Our dog is gone.’”
Thanks to his bravery, the family did not have to have Christmas without their beloved Karen.
As for the bears, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) captured the bears and relocated them to a different area further away from humans.
“FWC bear management staff set traps on the property and successfully caught the three cubs and adult female bear, then relocated the family group,” the agency said in a statement to the outlet.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
