ORLANDO, Fla. — A bear was stuck in a tree for hours in an Orlando neighborhood on Monday.
- Bear had been spotted in neighborhood for several days
- Bear was stuck in tree for hours on Monday
- RELATED:
The large mammal was spotted on Lido Street in east Orlando, near Semoran Boulevard and Curry Ford Road.
The bear was thought to have been hanging around the neighborhood for several days.
Wildlife officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission monitored the situation as a precaution, but the bear eventually came down.
Bears are abundant in Central Florida, where homes and the bears' natural habitat overlap. In 2014-2015, there were more than 4,000 bears across the state, with an estimated 1,200 in Central Florida alone.
If you see a bear, here are some simple things you can do to avoid encounters with black bears:
- Use bear-resistant containers.
- Clean your grills and store them in a secure area.
- If you have fruit trees, pick the ripe fruit and remove the fallen fruit from the ground.
If you do spot a bear, the FWC says you can call them at 888-404-FWCC and alert them of the sighting 24 hours a day.