I've had a couple of encounters with smaller black bears, but never a brown bear.
All the black bears that I've seen seem to be timid, and ran away.
The most dangerous terrestrial animals down here in Florida seem to be wild boars. I worry about them more than bears. We also have alligators, crocodiles, invasive caimans, invasive burmese pythons, coyotes, wild dogs, and large sharks.
Of all these animals, though, there are--I swear on a stack of bibles--invasive monkeys near Ocala.
If it was up to me, I would kill these animals ruthlessly on sight, and not because I'm bloodthirsty.
20% to 40% of these animals are asymptomatic carriers of Herpes B (and please, no jokes about Herpes Simplex 10 from Beverly Hills Cop). Herpes B is 80% fatal to people who contract the disease. There is no vaccine and no cure.
This disease can also be spread to people who are treating the patient.
Of the 20% who survive, the vast majority will have permanent brain damage and paralysis.
This virus can persist on surfaces from urine, feces, and other body fluids for over a week.
I don't understand why Florida doesn't put a bounty on these animals.
